Jaded By Rain
by Jamie1317kast
Summary: There are times in our lives that leave their imprints upon us. Times in which we become Jaded. Kyo Sohma, the Cat, is one such person. For he does not realize the event that will change his life...forever. final chapter up!
1. Chapter 1

Jaded By Rain

By, Jamie1317

There are times in our lives, which change us forever. They leave us forever touched and imprinted upon. In other words, Jaded…

Disclaimer: I do not own Furuba they are copyright to Natsuki Takaya-sensei. My own characters are Ryoko Sohma, Gabriel Sohma, Takamichi Sohma, Taichii Okinawa, Rumiko Young-Li, Chang Wong, Shi Fu-Li, Xiao Fua, Yueh Sohma, and if any other of my characters pop up I'll let you know.

PLEASE READ THESE, OR ELSE YOU'LL BE CONFUSED!

Authors' Notes: Changsha, China is a real place, it's about an 8-6 hour drive north from Hong-Kong. We will be visiting China during the course of this fic, visiting real places. It's essential to the story line.I was told that Chinese NEVER EVER have Japanese names. Too bad. Ryoko and Rumiko are both Chinese and yet hold Japanese names. Yueh is a Chinese name, he was born in China, but holds Japanese citizenship because he goes to school there. I like to emphasize the fact thatRyoko is different by having her speaking a language most Americans couldn't translate. The first bit that she says when she appears is not purely Japanese. I would like it to be, but sadly, I'm but a poor high school student taking Spanish classes that corrupt the little Japanese that I managed to teach myself. There is Spanish in what she says, I know it's not authentic, but I needed her to have this forgein air. It detaches her from us, which is the feeling I was aiming for anyway. Later on, she speaks in a language that I do not translate for you because it needs to be mysterious. This language is classified as Elvish. Many different forms of Elvish, that are not copyrighted by me. Sh'mai is my favorite Elvish word. It means " Beloved of my soul." No. There will be no Elves in this fic. I'm a hopeless romantic, and I hope that my work is appreciated. I hate reading these kinds of fics, the ones that pair the Furuba characters with people fanfic writers dream up. But I love making them; this fic is based off of a Furuba RPG. Please, no flames. Comments appreciated. The song that goes along with this fic, for which it is named, "Jaded by Rain" will appear at the end. I wrote this song, it is copyrighted to me, and… without further delay, go forth and read.

Chance Meetings:

Kyo will never forget that day. Never, because that one day was the beginning of his new life. Not that he knew it at the time, however. All Kyo was concerned about were the semi-normal concerns of every teenage boy; sex, girls, that damn Yuki, homework, teachers, parents (or lack thereof), oh.. and did we mention that damn Yuki? Kyo had his own insecurities, though he'd die before admitting it. So, in other words, Kyo Sohma was a normal sophomore in high school.

Normal! Normal my fat ass! Okay, I lied. Kyo is anything BUT normal. He's got Asian-tan skin, red/orange eyes, and bright orange hair. Oh, but it's natural. What! Natural you say? Duh, didn't you know? Kyo Sohma is THE Cat of the Chinese Zodiac. Well, obviously he LOOKS human. You'd like to think that wouldn't you. Receives glares All right, all right, on with the story…oh, and he's got 6-pack abs! ;

Kyo stares out the window, eyes unfocused as homeroom begins and chimes in another day of school. He doesn't wear the white tie on his uniform and leaves his shirt one, or two unbuttoned. He sighs, another day, another load of homework, same old and same old. ' Gods, doesn't anything ever change around here?' Kyo wonders.

" Kyo-kun! Kyo-kun!" Sensei's voice starts Kyo abruptly out of his reverie. " What!" he exclaims, startled. The class giggles as Kyo turns to face the front of the classroom. Yuki, the Rat, glares at him from his seat for zoning out and looking like a fool. Kyo tries to ignore Yuki for now, he really doesn't need another detention.

Sensei, satisfied that Kyo is paying attention, clears her throat again, " As I was saying class," Kyo sinks down into his seat. " We have a new student joining us today. From Changsha, China please welcome Ryoko-san." All eyes turn towards the door as Sensei motions for New Student Ryoko to enter the classroom.

Quietly, as if she is afraid that her footsteps will scar the floor. As if she fears that her very words, when uttered would be the cause of an unfortunate classmate's untimely death. As if she detests the very hands that clutch her school bag so desperately. As if she wishes to be anywhere, _anywhere_, but in that classroom, she walks up to Sensei's desk and gives a curt bow, straightens and says nothing.

Sensei, noticing the lack of words from her new student, attempts to fill the void caused by Ryoko's silence. " So, please tell the class about yourself, Ryoko-san. I understand that moving to a new country might be hard for you, but I'm sure that everyone will do their best to help you fit in." Sensei smiles one of those fake teacher smiles that high schoolers come to hate over the years.

From her blue and black Nike sneakers, to her neon-blue hair, Ryoko presents a distinct air of detachment. As if her mind is saying, ' That's not really me down there, I'm just dreaming. Watching somebody else live their life.' She wears the boys' school uniform, a skirt was just too humiliating, also sans the tie. Her neon-blue hair is cut boy-short, Yuki style in fact. Except for two long braids that hang down in front of her ears and as far as her hourglass waist. Her Chinese-Asian-tan skin is a shade or two darker than Kyo's. Her face is not Chinese looking, however, high-cheek-boned yes, but her eyes are not slanted. Her wide-Yuki-sky-blue eyes instantly capture many faces of her classmates when she lifts her proud chin to face the class. She speaks, and her Japanese is a combination of classroom-formal and street-slang, her voice lightly accented. A harmonious contralto, she takes a deep breath, points her voice at the end of her speech and goes for it.

" _Watashi wa_ _Sohma, Ryoko._" The class murmurs, so _this_ explains her blue hair and eyes, " _Watashi wa jounhachigou. Watashi wa pie no go, y watashi wa cien y jounhachigou no kilos. Wa pelo estoy azul y wa ojos son azules tambien, naturalmente. Wa ano no Junnynshi-_"( " I am Ryoko Sohma. I am 17. I am 5 feet, and 117 pounds. My hair is temporarily blue and my eyes are blue also, naturally. My year of the Chinese Zodiac is-")

Yuki stands suddenly, his chair scraping the floor. His pale, handsome face even paler than usual. " I'm sure I speak for everyone here, Ryoko-_prima_-san ( Cousin Ryoko-san), when I say that we here at Kawaia High School take the utmost pride in having you as our new classmate." Only because it is Yuki who speaks, does everyone agree with him. Sensei hands Ryoko a textbook and looks for an empty seat. " Ryoko-san, your seat will be…there! Next to Kyo-kun by the window."

" What! Why does it gotta be me!" Exclaims Kyo. Though for all his protests, he loses, and Ryoko sits next to him. Kyo sees that the moment Ryoko is in the safety of her seat, she tries to make herself as small as possible, invisible. He takes out his notebook, pretends to take notes and passes her a piece of paper.

Kyo: Yo. So, you're a Sohma too, huh?

Ryoko stares at the paper. Kyo thinks for a moment that she doesn't write Japanese yet. She takes more time to respond, he realizes, because she's translating it into Chinese inside her head. She pauses again, mechanical pencil poised to write as she translates her thoughts into Japanese, and then she has to try to remember the characters of katana and hiragana. She can speak Japanese just fine; she's just working on writing it, that's all.

Ryoko: Yes. I am Sohma. You are Sohma also?

Kyo: Yeah, I guess. If you can say that. Kyo, that's me.

Ryoko: It is nice to meet you, Kyo.

Kyo: You don't use honorifics?

Ryoko?

Kyo: …-san, -kun, -sensei, -ko, -baka, -kuso…wait. Sorry, those last two aren't honorifics. Just nicknames.

Ryoko: Oh, I see now. Like Mr., Ms, Miss, and Mrs.?

Kyo: Right. Hey, you're getting the hang of this.

Ryoko: Thanks Kyo. Naw, I don't see any need to use them. I never have. So... what are _baka y kuso_? Swears?

Kyo: You really are good at this. Well, technically, _baka_ means 'stupid' or 'idiot'. But _kuso_ is 'damn' or 'damnnit'. How could you tell?

Ryoko: _Wa da geh…_

Kyo: Your what?

Ryoko: Sorry, Chinese. My…Onii.

Kyo: Your brother? Why does he know Japanese? Did he teach you?

Ryoko: No, not really…

Kyo: Then who taught you?

When Ryoko doesn't pass the paper back, Kyo looks up at her. He notices for the first time, that her eyes are dead, they have no life in them. People's eyes are a life all their own, being happy or sad or shocked or in love. Usually you will see people with dead eyes who have been through horrors they'd rather not discuss. He could see too, that she looked to be on the verge of a tear-filled breakdown. Kyo didn't think he could handle that, he never was able to handle tears well.

Ryoko had been on the verge of telling the entire class what her year of the Zodiac was. He realized that that was why Yuki had so rudely interrupted her. He too, had noticed that she was a Sohma, and possibly a member of the Zodiac. Though, that was impossible, all the spaces were filled, weren't they? Or, was it possible that there had been double of one year? And if so, which year? Blue eyes, was she a Rat? Before Kyo could ask, the bell rang, all the students filed out to go to morning break.

Yuki, Ryoko, and Kyo were suddenly the only ones left in the empty classroom.

" Please forgive my rude interruption, Ryoko-san." Yuki softly apologized, " You see, I wished to stop you before you called attention to the Zodiac. I see that you are also a Sohma." Ryoko nods, " Yes, I am a Sohma. My father… he is the Dragon."

Ryoko could not for the life of her understand the boys' confused expressions. " Your d-dad is t-the Dragon!" Kyo exclaimed. " Impossible! There's no way that you're Hatori's daughter!" Yuki, too, muttered something along those lines.

Ryoko's eyes widened, " No, no. You misunderstand. The name of my father is Takamichi Sohma, my mother is... was an outsider, Rumiko Young-Li. My father is 49 this year, I think. And he's a real estate agent in China. We're, we must be, thinking of different Dragons."

" Yeah." " Quite right." The boys both agree. Different Dragons. Whew, that was weird.

Yuki has recovered somewhat from his shock enough to ask, " So, you know about the curse. Are you part of the Zodiac as well?" His deep purple eyes lock onto her dead blue ones. Almost willing her say no. Though, if there are two Dragons, then nothing is impossible. Ryoko bows her head, tucking her chin, so that her shirt collar muffles her reply. Kyo sighs, " C'mon. We won't know if you don't tell us. Look, fine, I'll tell you what we are." Yuki shoots Kyo a glare, and Kyo tries to ignore Yuki for the second time since they arrived at school.

" Yuki here, he's the Rat. Our older cousin that we're staying with, he's the Dog, not to mention a pervert. And I… I-I'm.." Kyo swallows, he really hates admitting he's the Cat, " I'm the Cat."

Though Ryoko's head stays tucked into her shirt collar, her entire posture changes. Kyo knows that Yuki's too oblivious to notice, however, when Ryoko's blue eyes come to life. As if she somehow finds hope and comfort in either knowing their Zodiac forms, or knowing that a Cat exists, Kyo doesn't know which. But a small flame of something Kyo can only call 'hope' burns brightly in Ryoko's eyes. " _Watashi wa…Nezumi._" ( I am… Rat.)

Yuki was once again too oblivious to the rest of the world, to notice her pause. But Kyo noticed. And he also noticed that Yuki's eyes mirrored Ryoko's 'hope'. There was another Rat, someone else who would be able to understand him. Poor Kyo felt left out. Yuki had someone now, but Kyo knew he never would. Was it too much for him to hope for another Cat?

" Kyo! Let's go, it's time for class." Yuki called to Kyo over his shoulder as the bells rang again. Yuki was escorting Ryoko around for the rest of the day, and if Kyo didn't know better he'd think that Yuki was going to permanently attach himself to Ryoko's right arm. " Yeah, whatever." he muttered.

Ryoko turned to wave to Kyo with her left arm. Her sleeve fell a little ways as she raised her hand. The morning sun shone off the bracelet on her wrist, glinting, no, sparkling off the black and white round beads.

Puddles of Memory:

_" Foolish girl! You dare to beg, to beg me? Ugly, disgusting, freakish creature!" A voice, cold and hard, and emotionless, " I'm the only one who has ever shown you love, and THIS is how you repay me? FREAK! DISGUSTING BITCH!" _

" Ryoko? Ryoko?" Yuki's soft voice pulled Ryoko back. Back to the light, away from the voice in her head. Away from the sound of rain on the roof, and back to afternoon sunlight hitting her face. " Ryoko? Are you crying?" Yuki bent over, leaning on the desk, " What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Ryoko knew he couldn't hear the voice, no one ever could. The voice that haunted her in the dark hours between sunset and sunrise. It was always soft at first, and then the screaming started. She lay on the desk, face buried in her arms, tears leaking out of her eyes despite her efforts to dam up her feelings. She wiped her tears away, and tried to put the now silent voice out her thoughts. " I'm fine. I just fell asleep, and…I had a nightmare." Yuki nodded. Nightmares, he understood. After all, he had plenty of them himself.

" School's over. C'mon, I'll take you home." Ryoko nodded, picked up her bags, slung them over her shoulder, and left with Yuki. " I should warn you, the man you're about to meet isn't the smartest of people. In fact, it's best if you just ignore him for the most part. His mind is never out of the gutter, but other than that, he's harmless." Ryoko smiled, " So," she changed topics, " what's for supper tonight?"

Yuki smiled a devilish smirk, " Leeks." He grinned.

" I'M NOT EATIN' NO STINKIN' LEEKS!" Was the sound that greeted Yuki and Ryoko when they came through the living room door? Yuki laughed quietly to himself,

" Kyo hates leeks, and that's-" " Why you make them?" Ryoko finished Yuki's sentence for him, anticipating his words. It was just as bad as if their hands had accidentally touched while going for the same thing on a buffet table, Yuki blushed like mad. " Yes, th-that's why." His embarrassment adorable as he tried to hide the fact that he was, in fact, embarrassed in the first place.

As Yuki went to go find Shigure, the Dog, to tell him that Ryoko was going to be staying with them, Ryoko stayed in the living room. Her blush caught her off guard; ' Do I like him?' She asked herself. ' Of course I do. He's handsome as all Hell, Jesus.' Ryoko tried to surpress a whistle; Yuki was cute of course, but. Kyo... the Cat. ' What about Kyo?' Ryoko thought, ' Indeed, what about him?' Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice, " Well now, who's this lovely young lady?" Ryoko turned…

IT was standing in the doorway. IT was smiling at her, as if IT hadn't done anything wrong. IT was pretending, IT was…no. The man lounging in the doorframe was not IT, he was this... Shigure, the Dog. That was right, IT wasn't here, IT was dead.

After a rather eventful supper, filled with Shigure's laughter, Kyo's rants, and Yuki's unending blush, Ryoko went up to her room. She lay down her bags, unrolled her futon, and set up her things. ' Her ' room. That these four walls, ceiling, and floor, and windows now made up HER room. Ryoko felt safe. She felt like there was a small flame burning within her heart. A flame that said, " You're safe now. You're safe here. Rest, and be at peace."

Ryoko needed to go out for a run. To feel the wind on her face, the cold on her skin, her breaths tighten in her chest. She told Shigure she was going out, he nodded, busy typing.

Step, step, breathe, step, step, breathe, step, step, breathe. The unending beat that counted out Ryoko's run, her feet slapping the ground in time to her rhythm. It was dark out now, hard for Ryoko to make out the path in front of her. But she had no fear, she somehow felt safe.

Here, she was safe. Here, she was herself. She wasn't a lie, she wasn't obligated to smile, and she wasn't fake. She had just told the biggest lie of her life, and gotten away with it too. Step, step, had to, step, step, had to, step, step, had to.

She'd had to lie; she'd had no choice. Or else, IT would happen again, IT would come back for her, across the veil. Shigure looked just like IT, hair tucked behind his ears, brown eyes delving into her. His smile, his face, his…NO! Ryoko picked up her pace, and ran faster through the woods.

Stepstepmyfault, stepstepmyfault, step, step, my... fault…

Voices, shades, called out to Ryoko as she raced down the path, back toward the light, the house, and a warm, hot shower.

Backtosafety, backtosafety, backtosafety, the beat of her feet pounding harder now. The voices whispered, shouted, and laughed at Ryoko as she desperately tried to close the distance between herself and the house;

_Look at her, poor thing._

_Can't hide it, girl. Can't run from the truth._

_You're only fooling yourself._

_Inconsiderate, he cared for you. Loved you. How many actually care for us?_

_It's her fault. _

_That's right, her fault. Her fault. Her fault._

" Leave me alone!"

_She's right, he deserved what he got._

_That bastard. _

_'They' said it was bomb, his body all torn and broken._

_Does she even remember? _

_What do 'They' know?_

_He was using her. Using US. He deserved that end. He deserved what he got._

_Remember his name, his name? _

" Stop it!"

_Taichii Okinawa. _

_You know, he looks just like that Dog. _

_I wonder-_

" SHUT UP!"

Ryoko finally rounded the bend in the path. Leaving the voices behind as she stepped into the yard. Her hair was plastered to her face, sweat pouring down her back, and her sports bra sticking to her dark skin.

" Do you have to yell?" Kyo's voice drifted down from the roof. Ryoko, trying to catch her breath, looked up to see him staring at her. " Sorry..." " Meh, don't apologize. I know how it is." Ryoko looked up at Kyo; she was finding him more than just moderately attractive. ' Chill Ryoko.' She told herself silently, ' You can get some action AFTER you get rid of the voices in your head.' Ryoko was so preoccupied with her own thoughts, that she completely missed Kyo's invitation. " What?" she asked again.

Kyo sighed. Women.

" I said, do you want to come up here with me?" he blushed a little as he said it, and Ryoko wondered if he knew. If he could tell, just by looking at her, by smelling her scent.

She agreed to visit with him on the roof for awhile, but not for too long. She didn't like being alone with men. They were unworthy of her trust, or, as the case may be, unworthy of trust in general. Especially around members of the opposite sex. Zodiac or no Zodiac, men were always wired for sex. Ryoko was, for once, happy to not understand what went on in the minds of men.

" So..." once Ryoko had actually gotten onto the roof, the situation was awkward. She was alone, with a boy. ' The last thing I need is to get knocked up on the roof.' Ryoko thought before she sat down next to Kyo. " So" she started again, " Was there anything that you wanted to talk about Kyo?"

Kyo blushed at her absence of honorifics. She didn't hate him, that much was clear. So, the lack of honorifics made him feel as though they were lovers. It was embarrassing. ' So THIS is why Yuki has been blushing all evening.' Kyo thought. For once, understanding Yuki's feelings. Though in a small, and what he thought was an insignificant way.

He grinned; he was going to scare the shit out of Ryoko.

" So, Ryoko." He decided that starting out nonchalantly was the best. Then, he dropped the big one, " What's it like being the Cat?" Her reaction was hilarious.

" What. The. Fuck. How did you know, you bastard!" Kyo snickered evilly at Ryoko's shocked expression. He hurriedly explained about seeing her beads at school that morning. He explained, also, the 'hope' he had seen in her eyes. " That was me, wasn't it? You somehow... found 'hope' that there was another Cat." Ryoko nodded, hugging her legs to her chest. And before Kyo could ask:

" I lied to Yuki and to Shigure because of...reasons of my own. I just... want to be accepted here. I want people to give me a chance. And to get that chance, I need to pretend to be the Rat. Because if I wasn't, well…" Kyo nodded, he understood. No one noticed you if you were the Cat, but then, no one cared about you either. " Wish I could do that." Kyo said.

They sat on the roof in silence for awhile more. Ryoko turned to Kyo, " Kyo." Not understanding his blush, the lack of honorifics, " Can I see your Cat form?" the question knocked Kyo's socks off. No one wanted to even see his human form, much less the rest of him. " I-I can't. Not that I wouldn't want to...I mean... oh Hell! I can't change at will, that's what I mean." His blush spreading from his cheeks and his neck, down beneath his black shirt. Ryoko's eyes followed his blush, and, for reasons of temptation, couldn't help but look a little bit lower.

Kyo noticed her wandering eyes, and turned beet-red. She was looking right at his package for Gods' sake! Knowing this, and despite the fact that he was trying not to get a hard-on, he did anyway. Ryoko smiled, all she had to do was embarrass him, right? Kyo closed his eyes, he knew it was coming, but it still made him change, " Kyo, how big is your package?"

POOF

" Awwww. Kawaii!" Ryoko picked up Kyo the Cat, cuddling him. " You're so cute!" Kyo blushed uncontrollably, ' Women, what is it with them and cute things?' Kyo asked himself. " A tabby-tom Cat. Adorable." This time, Ryoko couldn't suppress the whistle,

" Gods, you're hot." She thought his Cat form was hot, what did she then think of his human form? Kyo didn't want to imagine it, but his mind got away from him,

' What… would she think of my…true form?' This moment of seriousness banished the blush from Kyo's furry face. ' Gods, there's another Cat.' The full realization finally hitting Kyo. ' And she likes me. Maybe even lov-'

POOF

Kyo's eyes opened to possibly the most awkward position in his life. Ryoko was lying underneath his naked, tan body. His groin was positioned (just his luck), exactly where it should be for certain activities, but certainly not for getting to know the new Cat. Strangely, he didn't want to move. Ryoko's body felt warm beneath him, her pulse pounding in his ear. Her chest moving up and down with each breath stirred something primal in Kyo, made him ache in places he was sure he shouldn't be aching in.

" _Sh'mai_." Ryoko whispered, a long-forgotten word, in a language no longer known in the tongues of Men. Lyrical, and softly spoken, Kyo did not hear her words. The words of ancient times, and ancient ways, before the curse. _" Ore… aine. Alcalima. Elye-nna… Lomion, met."_ Her eyes wide and staring at the dark, starry sky above them.

Kyo attempted to move, then stopped. It felt too good to move. He tried moving forward, sliding his body along Ryoko's. And stopped. They both groaned, it felt too good. So they lay there, too afraid to move, or too shy to try. Him, naked. Her, wearing a sports bra and gym shorts. Poor Kyo. His hard-on just got worse.

" I didn't mean to do that." Kyo started. " It's all right. I know. It's not your fault." Even though the words were for a completely different situation than this, they still went straight to his heart. _" It's not your fault. It's not your fault."_ The voice of Ryoko resounding in his very soul, he felt, somehow, forgiven. Not simply forgiven for being naked on top of her, but forgiven for being the Cat, forgiven for his mother. Forgiven for everything.

Ryoko could feel his breath in her ear. She shivered slightly; she didn't want to remember the last time she had been this close to a man. Because remembering was dangerous. Remembering hurt. Forgetting was the only option, if she forgets, then maybe, IT won't have happened. But she knows this is impossible. IT did happen. She has the scars to prove it. Not that she looks at herself anymore, no, she can't. She's disgusting. And she always will be. She's accepted that fact.

But, some small thing was stirring inside of her heart. A part of her that she had closed off since she was fourteen. She quickly drove any possibility that she might come to love Kyo out of her mind. Loving him was out of the question... right? No, not right. She felt something for him, but was too afraid to admit it. Too afraid of IT. She'd stick with Yuki for now, he was a harmless boy, but Kyo was a man. And that difference, from a boy to a man, was all there was between a shy touch and IT. Between a sweet, closed-lip kiss, and frenching. Between a girl's first ache at being touched, and a woman's pain at being taken.

She closed her eyes, as good as this felt, it was time to end it. Before they got some crazy idea into their heads and fucked on the roof. " I won't look. Get your cloths."

So Kyo did, gathered his cloths as Ryoko went back down into the house. He lay on the roof for a long time afterward. Taking in all that had happened and his feelings about the situation. Kyo hopped down to his balcony, and walked down to Shigure's study. He ignored Shigure's, " Don't you go having sex on my roof Kyo." (No honorifics because they were family and had know eachother for practically ever.)

He went to the bookshelf. It was time, he'd decided. It was time. Time to put Shigure's romance novels to good use.


	2. Chapter 2

Jaded By Rain

By, Jamie1317kast

When you trust someone with your deepest secret, and they swear to keep it under pain of death… when that secret is revealed, is death the only option?

Disclaimer: I do not own Furuba they are copyright to Natsuki Takaya-sensei. My own characters are Ryoko Sohma, Gabriel Sohma, Takamichi Sohma, Taichii Okinawa, Rumiko Young-Li, Chang Wong, Shi Fu-Li, Xiao Fua, Yueh Sohma, Saizo Chung, and if any other of my characters pop up I'll let you know.

Rated R for adult situations, language, and implied rape.

Painful Memories:

The early Fall mist rises off the pond. It's curling tendrils of white and grey winding up through the trees. Ryoko wades, naked, through the water. Her bare feet picking their way carefully along the grimy bottom. The early morning sun glints off her wet, tan skin. Beads of water making their wet, dark paths down her back. She takes a deep breath, and dives.

Ryoko wanders into the kitchen around six o'clock to make pancakes. She has a towel slung around her shoulders to catch the pond water dripping off her hair. Her school uniform is drying on the clothesline outside (she got attacked by a rainstorm on her way home from school), and she wears a rumpled blue T-shirt, and dark blue sweat pants.

She goes to reach for the frying pan and stops. Her bracelet glints in the kitchen light. She frowns. " Stupid fucking thing.." she gripes. She contemplates a thought that has been brewing in her mind ever since she came to live in Japan. She strides around the kitchen, making breakfast, still deep in thought.

As she sets out the pancakes on the living room table, she comes to a heartwrenching decision. She will. After all, she's supposed to be the Rat, right? Can't be caught wearing the Cat's beads, right? Right.

She places a hesitant hand on her left wrist, she's taken them off before, of course. But never for an extended period of time. But she's been training, she can take the pain, she knows she can. She cocks her head slightly, no sounds from upstairs yet. Good. Wait… the soft creaking on the hallway above can only mean that the house is waking up. ' Maybe, this afternoon.' Ryoko thinks, ' But not now. Now, I have school.'

Kyo, Yuki and Ryoko make their way home from school. Yuki chatters away about his garden, the things he likes to do, how much his fangirls annoy him, how much Kyo pisses him off, " And that _baka neko_ never shuts up. He's always yelling about one thing or another, always so loud." Yuki grimaces, Kyo glares at the back of the Rat's head. ' _Kuso Nezumi._'

" Yuki, you shouldn't say such things about Kyo." Ryoko chides him, she's the peacemaker. " After all, there's a reason for everything. There must be a reason for why he's always so loud. … Maybe, he's so loud because he doesn't think that anyone is listening to him." Yuki stares at Ryoko, " You give him too much credit, Ryoko-san." Yuki mutters, " He's only a Cat."

" Hey." Ryoko, turns from her spot on the porch to see Kyo standing in the yard in front of her, " Thanks. For sticking up for me, I mean." Ryoko nods, it's a mutual understanding. You're not sticking up for the other person because they're weak, you're sticking up for them because no one ever has. Because you want to protect them. Because you're both the same, after all.

Kyo turns to go continue with his training, " Kyo! Wait a minute." He turns back,

" Yeah?", uncertain now. He cares for Ryoko, and how could he not? She's a Cat, same as him, it would be un-natural for him to not feel for her. He longs to tell her his feelings, but, alas, he is 16. And male. This puts a damper on things.

Men.

" Can we talk? That is, if you want to." Ryoko knew that Kyo was trustworthy, she knew he wouldn't betray her confidence. Since that incident on the roof, Ryoko had smiled more often. Even though he'd had the opportunity, he hadn't tried anything. Granted, he'd tried to get up, several times. But, it hadn't been an experience she regretted. She was ready to tell him, ready to reveal her secret, and, to extend a favor.

Shigure was in his study, fighting desperately against writers block. And losing. Badly. His fingers twisting the hem of his Fall kimono, rolling the heavy cloth beneath his fingertips. He sighed, no ideas. At least, not right now anyway.

Shigure got up. He walked over to his bookshelf and stopped. Someone had been in his study. Looking at the romance novels no doubt. Boys, Shigure shook his head. Now which ones were out of place, let's see…

Before Shigure could come to a solid conclusion of which boy had been folding down the page edges of the sex scenes, he heard voices.

" You've got to swear, Kyo. Don't tell a soul." That was Ryoko's voice. Sounded like there was some Secret Trading taking place on the front lawn. But, why was Ryoko talking to Kyo? She was a Rat, after all. He listened to the conversation from the round window in his study.

Or not a Rat, as the case may be. Shigure peered out, hoping he wouldn't be seen. Ryoko was nestled in Kyo's arms, head on his chest. The beads on her wrist clinking together softly, why hadn't Shigure noticed them before? He stopped thinking as he switched from Plot Mode to Eavesdropping Mode in .05 nanoseconds.

" It all started with a friend of mine, Saizo Chung. You see, my father found us…

_" Damnnit! How the Hell are you supposed to do this?" An in-experienced shuffling is taking place in a dimly-lit room. " I don't know." A girl's voice replies, " I certainly know less than you do, that's for sure." Two people, young, and in love struggle to figure out the complications of sex. _

_" It's not transforming you that's my problem." A boy, of no more than thirteen, his eyes shifting from the girl before him, to the a book of how-to about sex. _

_" Saizo…" The girl whispers, " We don't have to do this now. We can wait. Father will be home soon, he'll catch us, he'll see." Her nervous voice shaking as she lies beneath her close friend. _

_From downstairs, a door shuts. Heavy footsteps and creaking floorboards go unheard by the couple a floor above. " I think I've got it now…" The boy assures her, " It might hurt so-" _

_Whatever the boy was going to say will never be known. The girls' father stands framed in the doorway, a look of shock on his face. The daughter turns her face from him, ashamed._

_The scuffle only lasted a moment. Consisting of a struggle to grab their cloths, the blinding lights being flicked on, and the father grabbing the boy's collar._

" So.. he was your first?" Kyo asked hesitantly, these things she was telling him were big. Deep, up close and personal. He held Ryoko close, trying to concentrate on her words and not the fact that her breasts were squishing into his chest. Her eyes, what he could see of them, looked sad.

" Not really." She replied, nuzzling his shirt with her cheek. " Saizo knew all my secrets. I even told him about the Zodiac an' everything. We'd been best friends since practically ever. We decided, at my 12 and his 13, that we were ready for, you know…IT. Sex." Ryoko snickers a little, admiring the foolishness of her twelve-year-old youth. " We were wrong, of course. My Father found us. He was a Dragon, you know."

" Once I revealed that I'd told Saizo about the Zodiac, he…"

_" Father, NO!" Ryoko struggles to get out of her older brother's arms, " Please! Anything but that! Don't take his memories! Please, Father, please!" She stops struggling, crying, wailing. She knows. This has happened before, but that doesn't make it any less painful. _

_" Don't worry Ryoko." Saizo turns a little to smile half-heartedly at his friend, _

" _Even if I don't remember, you will." He turns back to Ryoko's father, a man with a sad face and a great weight on his shoulders._

_Ryoko's father gently places a hand on Saizo's face, his manner much more gentle than it had been when he'd found them naked on the floor of his daughter's room. This was duty, nothing more._

_A blinding flash, Ryoko squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't want to see. Didn't want to see her friend being dragged away, out the door. And out of her life forever. She knew she wouldn't ever see him again. _

_" What the Hell do you mean ' betrothed'? What in Buddha's name does that mean?" Ryoko stood before her father, hands on her hips, flicking her long, black hair back over her shoulders. _

_It means that you're engaged to be married, that's what he said. Her father had looked at her coldly, " To an Outsider."_

" Wait. There's something I don't understand. Why did your Dad stop you from being with that Saizo guy, and then set you up with this Outsider?" Kyo asked, quizzical.

" Because apparently" Ryoko's voice hardening at the memory, " I'd been engaged to this man before I was even born. Or at least that's what Dad said." She narrowed her eyes.

Kyo snorted, " Well that's just plain bullshit." Ryoko nodded against his chest,

" You couldn't be more right." She agreed.

" Well after that, I met the man. His name was Taichii Okinawa, and he was the son of Japanese ambassador to China. A man of great political power, he paid my Father a great deal of money for me. I hated him. I still hate him. He had this whole cock-and-bullshit idea into his head that women are inferior to men and belong in the kitchen and in the bed. I really hated him."

" He, rather quickly in fact, found out my secret. The Zodiac secret." Kyo drew in a sharp breath. " After that, I was always his pet. He loved seeing how far he could touch me without having me transform." Bile rose in Ryoko's throat. " He always threatened to expose the Zodiac secret to the world if I didn't do exactly what he told me to. It makes me sick. The horrible things he made me do."

Kyo gulped, he hated to think of it as well. He hoped this guy was dead and buried. Buried deep, preferably. _Really_ deep. 'Cause if this man was still alive, Kyo was gonna murder him. And make it painful. _Really _painful.

_He was the type of man who reveled in power. He drank it in, bathed in it, the fact that he had an ace up his sleeve made him seem nearly drunk. The bastard. He paraded Ryoko around, to all the fancy upper-class parties, all the social events. He loved showing her off, in her ornate Chinese robes with her long black hair put up in the most ridiculous traditional styles._

_He always wore suits. Ryoko can't ever remember him wearing anything else. Always black, or dark blue, with a red tie. That damn red tie. He was always fiddling with it, loosening with it, tightening with it, rolling the cloth under his fingers. It nearly drove Ryoko mad. But the red tie aside, Ryoko rather liked the fact that Taichii wore suits. It made him seem more human, less manly. Suits, to Ryoko, made men seem less like men and more like women. Softer around the edges._

_His face was sharp, all angles and sudden corners. His skin was oily, it glistened in the florescent lights on the ceilings above him. He had cold brown eyes, the kind you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. Asian skin, and perfect lips. He wore Men's Lipstick. As if there was such a thing. The kind men wear in commercials, he said it made him look young. It really made him look stupid, but Ryoko never told him what she thought. His black hair was always slicked back with some mysterious type of gel, it made his head sticky to the touch. Especially when he'd been under the lights for hours, it would melt and make his head one whole mess of grease and oil._

_He wore cologne too. Brunt, the outdoorsy kind. Of course, the bastard never did do anything away from his desk. He'd always come back to his house smelling like melted oil and pine. Ryoko hated his smell, the smell of a man. _

_After her father had found her with Saizo Chung, she'd moved in with Taichii Okinawa, that bastard. In an elaborate traditional house in the suburbs outside of Beijing. Ryoko was, for lack of a better term, his bitch. She cleaned his messy house, cooked his extravagant meals, did his disgusting laundry with a clothespin on her nose, and waited on him oily hand and smelly foot. _

_ Every day he'd come back to the house from a long day in a plush office. Ryoko would have already set the table and the meal, waiting until he had sat down until sitting herself. Every day he'd sit on the leather couch in front of the television, drinking beer and watching American football. Ryoko hated football. She learned English simply by listening to him parade the language around to other high-standing officials. And every day, he'd take a pinch at her, or a squeeze, and then laugh maliciously when she shied away from him. _

_One day was different. _

_Taichii had come home early from work. Ryoko was sitting in the kitchen, reading a book. Speak, an American book by a Miss. Anderson. Struggling through the English, reading out loud to herself, Ryoko did not hear Taichii's red Ferrari pull up the driveway. So engrossed was she in her reading, that she did not even hear him until it was far, far too late. _

_His oily hands were suddenly on her shoulders, un-buttoning her chimase. She struggled, he laughed. His teeth biting her neck, her shoulders, sending pain, and not pleasure coursing through her. She tried to scream, but no sound came out. This was due to the fact that Taichii's lips were clamped against her own. His tongue probed her mouth, dancing with hers, as he ripped open her chimase, nails raking down her woman's chest. _

_Before Ryoko knew, she was on the floor below him, his greasy hair hanging into his face. His hot, ugly breath on her cheek. He tore her clothes apart, bra, pants, panties. All of it. Until she was naked, cold, and shivering. Hard for her, he struggled desperately with his zipper, fingers fumbling in sick anticipation. _

_As the real rape began, so did the rain. It hurled itself down out of the skies, desperate to wash the Earth clean of it's sins. Before, the rain had been something Ryoko hated, loathed. It stole her energy, made her ache inside. But now, now, the rain was her savior. Taichii hadn't bothered with her bracelet, the fool. _

_Ryoko cried out when he thrust his way inside of her, making her bleed. Her nails dug into her palms, making little half-moon circles. She bit her tongue, and it bled. She heard the rain. She looked at her beads, she made her choice. _

Kyo was silent. All he could do was hold Ryoko, and hold her close. No wonder, no wonder that her eyes had been dead. No small fucking wonder. She'd torn off her beads, the black and white round beads of the Cat, the seal on the Cat's true form. So she had a true form too, this surprised Kyo more than it should have, he thought that he'd been the only one who had to live with that grotesque form. The knowledge of what she'd done churned over and over in the pit of Kyo's stomach.

She'd ripped him apart.


	3. Chapter 3

Jaded By Rain

By, Jamie1317kast

Uncover the hidden truth. Unearth the forgotten past. Lies discovered and truths uncovered when God begins his wrath.

Disclaimer: I do not own Furuba, they are copyright to Natsuki Takaya-sensei. My own characters are Ryoko Sohma, Gabriel Sohma, Takamichi Sohma, Taichii Okinawa, Rumiko Young-Li, Chang Wong, Shi Fu-Li, Xiao Fua, Yueh Sohma, Saizo Chung, and if any other of my characters pop up I'll let you know. Oh, neither do I own the Scarlet Letter or Speak.

Rated R for adult situations, and attempted murder.

Author's Notes: hey y'all. How do you like it so far, huh? Read and Review, I'm begging you. Please! Anyone confused yet? I sure am. No, just kidding. laughs please tell me how I'm doing, is it good, bad, what? Just let me know. Comments, criticisms, or flames even. On second thought, no flames. Bad idea. On with the fic!

Secret Lies:

Left, right. Left, right. Left, right. Kyo practiced his punches in the backyard; martial arts always helped him think. Now, right, left. Right, left. Right, left. Twisting his whole upper body, putting all his strength into every punch. As if Yuki was the one he was beating on, and not the air. As Kyo's left arm shot out, the two sets of beads clinked together. Right, clink. Right, clink. Right, clink. ' Stupid beads.'

_" You want me to what?" Kyo had asked, shocked. " I can't stand wearing them, Kyo." Ryoko had replied, " I don't like being reminded." She was holding her set of beads out to him; she'd actually taken them off willingly. Kyo was starting to think that there was nothing that she couldn't do. " I want you to have them, Kyo. I know that you will keep them safe. If you don't want to wear them, then at least hide them away somewhere. I don't want Yuki seeing them." _

_Kyo had looked at her, even as his took them reluctantly, with something akin to admiration in his eyes. " What do you plan to do if it rains?" He'd asked, nervous. The curse of the Cat's true form, brought out by the rain. Ryoko looked Kyo square in the eyes, blue on red; he broke the gaze first. Looking at her for so long reminded him of the fact that he couldn't seem to stop having wet dreams about her, it made him squirm just to be in a 5-foot radius of her. _

_Men. _

_Her voice confident, far more confident than she felt, a sick feeling gathering in the pit of her stomach, " Run like Hell." _

A normal, boring, cloudy day. Ryoko, Kyo and Yuki were all attempting to stay awake as Sensei droned on and on about their English reading lesson. Something about a red letter, some weird religion, symbolism, and a guy named Hawthorne. Not important. Obviously. ' And we're going to use this WHEN in our adult lives?' Kyo maliciously thought.

Not wanting anyone to notice that Kyo was now in possession of two sets of Cat's beads; he had left Ryoko's pair at home. However, looking at the cloudy weather, he was having second thoughts. His bad feeling increased when the thunder rolled in and the rain broke. He snapped his head around to Ryoko.

Doubled over in her seat by the open window, Ryoko was shaking. Her hands shoved under her desk, concealing their ugly, malignant growths. Her head shot up,

" Sensei!" her voice was cracked and strained. " May I be excused! I don't feel good." Sensei, not completely blind to a student's pain, motioned for her to go. Ryoko practically fled the room.

" Ryoko?" Kyo was searching for her. She hadn't come back to school, so he'd grabbed her bag and went looking. " Ryoko?" He called again. He finally reached the Sohma forest, and proceeded along a side path thick with undergrowth. The branches were torn and snapped, like bones wrenched from their sockets. The ground stamped flat, at intervals far apart. Kyo shuddered. She was out here somewhere. In her true form. Of course, he knew what he looked like. He knew he was ugly. He did not expect Ryoko to be the same. If she was indeed, just as disgusting as he was, he could forgive her for that. After all, they were both Cats. If they couldn't accept each other, no one would.

" Go away!" Ryoko's warped voice shouted, " Leave me alone!" Kyo followed the sound of her voice through the thick trees, coming into a small clearing. There she was. Kyo sucked in a breath. Doubled up, clinging onto a tree, was Ryoko. Her shirt was on the ground beside her, her pants stretching to conceal her horrid figure.

A mass of putrid, untamed, and hard wild flesh covered Ryoko's body. Her massive purple eyes lazed about on her face, staring this way and that. Her long, wavy and sensitive ears twitched at the sound of Kyo's voice. Her delicate hands were hands no longer. Instead, they were large paws consisting mainly of unwanted flesh, and bone. She clamped her eyes shut, breathing harshly, pointy rows of teeth glistening with saliva and the sweat of concentration rolling down her bare back.

She cried out in agony, the air crackled with magic, sending sparks flying outward in all directions. Her features crawled back towards their human mold, desperately reaching for that salvation of normalcy. The retribution of her efforts was pain. Kyo ran to help her, dropping their bags, forgetting his fear.

" Ryoko!" He called to her, running forward to her aid. " Go away…" Ryoko groaned, her face somewhere between human and demon, " Don't look at me. I'm ugly." Kyo grabbed her upper arm. " Yeah, well… so am I." He confessed. That was it. They were both ugly. They were both disgusting. They knew it. But… they didn't accept it. And if they didn't accept themselves, how, oh, how, could they ever accept each other?

" Yes, Yuki. I'm feeling quite fine, actually. I'm feeling much better. Much better now that you're here that is." Ryoko smiled at Yuki, smirking inside, she loved seeing him blush. The poor boy. He just couldn't respond to flirting. Not that he didn't try, oh no, he tried. And failed. Miserably.

" Well, that's good, Ryoko-san." Yuki somehow managed to stutter out. Funny, he'd never been tongue-tied around a woman before. It was as if he had to beat the words out, get them around the ship-sinking iceberg in his throat. He rarely ever succeeded. He'd say something, and then the hull would start to leak and the radio operators would scramble for the rights to scream out the SOS. _" AIEEE! Woman approaching! Left man, left! No, no, your other left! Mayday, mayday! SOS! SOS! And… it's no good. We're going' down." _Sometimes Yuki worried about the voices in his head. They made him nervous.

It was a sunny afternoon, the rain had cleared away, and the incident in the woods was being buried a ways back in the depths of Ryoko's mind. Ryoko, upon approaching the house, had been confronted by Yuki. Who had obviously been worried sick about her. Kyo glared at Yuki as he stepped by him and into the house, ' Damn Rat's just too spaced out to notice anything. He doesn't get it; he really doesn't get it. And of all the guys in this house, it JUST HAS to be him, now, doesn't it! Damn Rat!'

Kyo is jealous. Can you tell?

Yuki ignored the mayday signal bouncing about his brain and mustered up the courage to speak to Ryoko without tripping over his words. " I was wondering, if, you know. If…" He blushed, so cute! " If you'd like to do something tomorrow after school, maybe, like… a date?" His last two words were forced out in a small, Rat-like squeak. He cleared his throat, and repeated his question. Sans the squeak.

" I'd love to Yuki." Ryoko smiled when he blushed again. Rats. Hah! They were all the same, when it came to love, that is.

Cloudy again. Not exactly the perfect day for a date. Oh well. The weather had been so bad lately, which meant that Ryoko wasn't doing so good. The poor thing was in so much pain, but she refused to even look at her beads. Once again, they were back at Shigure's house, on Kyo's bookshelf. She thought that she didn't need them.

Yep, she's in denial.

Yuki waited by the school gates for Ryoko. The cold fall wind played with his hair, and he wrapped his jacket tighter around his wiry frame. He shifted his feet, as much from nervousness as from the cold, and blew into his hands to keep them warm. He longed for Ryoko to get there so that they could find some place warm to sit and have hot chocolate. Then he saw her.

Ryoko was walking toward him from the school entrance, her small black Chinese shoes clipping on the pavement. She was still wearing the boys' uniform, Yuki understood; he wouldn't want to wear a skirt either. He shuddered, but not from the cold, the student council president and his fangirls really scared him sometimes. Perhaps they just needed serious mental help. And Yuki was sure that wearing a skirt just to get rid of them wasn't going to work.

" Yuki!" Ryoko called out to him cheerfully. The strong wind blew her braids out, and she struggled to keep her hair out of her face. She was wearing short sleeves, the boys' summer uniform, and Yuki felt even colder just by looking at her. ' Brrr. how can she wear only that? I've got three layers on and I'M freezing!' he thought.

" Well, let's go shall we?" Yuki nodded, the sooner they got to the café, the better.

It was an enjoyable date. Ryoko and Yuki both shared with each other their favorite things to do; favorite things eat, and so on. They didn't talk much about their past, and that suited them both just fine.

" So, Christmas is coming up soon." Ryoko acknowledged, sipping her hot cocoa, breathing in the steam. " Does our family celebrate Christmas?" Yuki shook his pretty head, " No, we only celebrate the Chinese New Year."

Ryoko's eyes lit up, " Oh! New Year's! Oh, I can't wait! I love New Year's! It's always so fun. Father used to take Big Brother and I to the festival every year. It was spectacular; there were all these hanging lanterns, parades, oh! And one year there was even a Dragon dancer. It was so cool! And we'd have soba noodles and moon cakes until we were so full, we thought we couldn't eat another bite. Ha ha! Oh! And just last year, Big Brother let me have some sake. I was so drunk by the end of the night, like you wouldn't believe, it was hilarious!" Ryoko laughed out loud at her memories. Even Yuki smiled too, at least her childhood had been happy.

" You mentioned Christmas, Ryoko-san. Did your Father and Big Brother celebrate Christmas?" Ryoko smiled and laughed. Her eyes glowed with her memories of lantern lights and candles long since burned out and passed away. " Yes. We did. Father always got me cloths, ick! But Big Brother," here Ryoko sighed, as if seeing something only she could see, " he never really got me anything. Just some silly little thing, a bookmark, or a coffee mug. Something stupid like that. But, for these last few years, he's changed. He would get me anything I wanted, he just tried to make me happy. He just tried… to make me smile."

Ryoko's eyes looked sad, remembering her brother. How he had been the only Rat she'd ever known all her life. Gods, how they'd hated each other. But after Taichii…

_She'd run, as far and as fast as she was able. Somehow, she found herself in Boston, Massachusetts. Her brother was going to college there, Harvard U. studying law and politics. Her eyes were dead, her heart was in danger of giving up, and her soul was in danger of going out like a flimsy candle flame in a strong wind._

_The rough American English swept Ryoko away until she was completely lost in a crowd of college students all jostling and joking about classes and homework. " Hey, Gabriel. Isn't that your sister?" A voice pointed at her, picked her out from the crowd, and soon her Big Brother was there in front of her. Somehow, warm hands were lifting her up, holding her, comforting her, leading her away from the crowds and the noise and the strange smells. _

_" Ryoko, what are you doing here?" Her brother, Gabriel Sohma the Rat, had asked, " You're supposed to be in China." His Chinese was liquid softly spoken and poured from his lips like molten silver, precious and perfect. His red eyes looked down at her, his large hands on her frail shoulders; perfectly soft smiles turned to a frown of fatherly concern. _

_Gabriel was a tall man, his broad shoulders gave him a strong presence, and the kind people paid attention to. His Asian-tan skin was smooth and soft, like silk. His white hair, not silver or even grey, but white as foam on the sea, was shoulder length and hung into his brilliant red eyes; causing him to always be blowing strands of roaming hair out of his face, and adorable habit. _

_His manner was soft and tender, as though he was a young lover, intent on soothing the worries of his beloved as easily as smoothing the creases out of a bed sheet. He gently lifted up Ryoko as if she was no more than a doll, so great was his strength. Though it seemed to come from more of his strength of character, heart and soul, than from a strength of body._

_Before he'd rescued her, taken her in or anything like that, they'd hated each other. Never speaking, always arguing, always yelling. But he'd cared for her after that, so much in fact, that those people who saw them together believed that they were lovers and not brother and sister._

Ryoko and Yuki returned uneventfully from the café, holding each other for warmth. Kyo growled somewhere deep in his throat when he saw them together. Of course, Yuki didn't know she was the Cat, but he should. But love, as usual, continued to be blind and oblivious to the most obvious and simple of things. Ah, young love.

It was dark. Yuki and Ryoko stood in the kitchen, so close they were almost touching. Ryoko's face was flushed and Yuki's was as well. This wasn't good, if Ryoko got any more embarrassed, she'd transform. " Y-You what, Yuki?" She asked, unable to comprehend what she'd just heard. " I love you." He repeated, his purple eyes glittering in the moonlight streaming in from the window. He leaned in toward her, and just as his lips barely brushed against hers'…

POOF

Ryoko looked up at Yuki from her spot on the floor among her settling clothes. Yuki looked down at her expecting to see a Rat. But no, a Rat's eyes were not the eyes that met his. A beautiful Siamese shorthaired Cat sat and stared up at him with hopeful eyes, eyes that asked Yuki to forgive her lie.

His face tightened. He whirled around and left the kitchen. Ryoko curled up on the floor, putting her paws over her furry face. Cats cannot cry, it is impossible for them to do so. So imagine the effort, and imagine the heartbreak of a young woman so pained by the loss of a loved one, that for even heartbreak, a Cat could shed tears.

Shigure could no doubt say that he's been with enough women to know when they're really crying and when they're faking it. He'd be wrong. Does any man, any man I say, really know enough to say when a woman's tears are real?

But that's where he found her, on the floor of the kitchen the next morning, still in her Cat form. He scooped her up and carried her upstairs to her room, laid her on her bed, folded her cloths and tiptoeing, left without a word so as not to wake her from her dreamless sleep.

Christmas Eve, a night of young lovers snuggling together in front of a warm hearth full of crackling red flames. A night of joyous occasion for many around the world. Except in Shigure's house. There were no Christmas lights, no tree, no decorations, no stockings or joyous songs to sing. Not even an exchange of gifts, though Ryoko had gotten something for all three men, she did not expect anything in return.

Ryoko had cried every night since Yuki stopped speaking to her, about a week. Her eyes were red and puffy, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes hurt every time she even blinked. Heartbreak is such a painful thing, especially when you're young. It hurts, somewhere deep inside, even though you may have taken a vow to never let that person burrow themselves so deeply into your very soul. It hurts, and it hurt Ryoko very much that she had been rejected, but it hurt even more so that she had been rejected, not because of who she was, but because of what she was; the Cat. That, above all, was what pained her the most.

Something that must be understood about Ryoko is that she doesn't deal with depression very well. Not well at all. So… to put it lightly, Ryoko has a tendency toward suicide. Or, as one might call it, self-destructive behavior.

Another thing about Ryoko is that to combat her depression and it doesn't work very well, she writes in a diary. She writes a little every day, it's a routine that helps her deal with the stresses in her life, and believe you me, there are a lot of them. She not only had to deal with being a teenager; she has a curse to contend with as well. This is difficult. Very difficult.

" You want me to what?" The young man stared back at her. Akito, that was his name. A man of grays, a personality that would baffle even the most experienced physicians, Akito was completely mad. Off his rocker to say the least. Not to mention he was extremely hot. Which doesn't exactly improve matters, it just makes them better looking, that's all.

Akito was lounging in the doorway of his room, staring out into his garden. His robes wrapped tight around him to protect him from the early morning cold, white and purple, like frail irises in the first weeks of spring. His porcelain skin was so delicate, like thin ice, Ryoko half wondered how this young man was even still alive. His hair was as black as a raven's wing, as dark as the spaces between the stars on a cold winter night. Matching his eyes, pale blues and grays, like a frozen lake. A cold man, who wanted nothing more than to wrap his skinny hands around Ryoko's neck and simply squeeze until there were no more breaths left in her.

He knew about her, oh yes he did. Through gossip, trying to take his precious Yuki from him, that Cat-bitch. He hated Ryoko with such an unequaled passion, that Ryoko was surprised anyone even cared that much to be so angry with her.

Ryoko sat on the wall; she'd hoisted herself up from outside the estate. She was Cat-like, staring down at Akito as if she were God and not him. He hated her, plain and simple.

" I want you to kill me." Ryoko repeated, Akito's eyes glimmering. " A just punishment for trying to steal my precious Yuki from me. It's exactly what you deserve, you filthy, disgusting Cat." Akito motioned for Ryoko to enter his rooms, which she did, jumping off the wall and walking over to him with the footsteps of one resigned to his or her self-assigned fate. " How would you like to die?" Akito asked once Ryoko was standing in the room with him. " As painfully as possible." She replied, meeting his cold eyes with hers.

Pale hands, thought to be frail, but given part of a strange possessive strength that made the skin under them shiver. Pale hands, stronger than they first appeared, pushing, pulling, and stretching the other's skin. Pale hands, cold as ice, ripping out the sins from underneath the woman's breast. Akito's pale, pale hands gently stroked Ryoko's face. " You're ugly." His soft, malicious voice whispered into her ear, sending involuntary shivers down Ryoko's spine. So close they were touching, Ryoko was spread out on the tatami mats on the floor of the room, Akito was kneeling over her, digging his nails into her dark flesh. She did not cry out, but let him do as he wished, she knew that she deserved every bit of pain that she was receiving.

Ryoko wore a pale blue Japanese yukata kimono of thin summer fabric, with dark red flowers that bore more of a resemblance to blood than to the soft petals they were supposed to be. Sitting behind her, Akito ran his icy hands along her neck, down her shoulders, pulling down her kimono, leaving her bare dark skin exposed to the cold. He breathed cold breaths on her tingling, naked flesh, smirking like a devilish sprite when she writhed beneath his touch. Ryoko held back a cry of both twisted pleasure and acute pain when Akito bit his sharp teeth into the nape of her neck. He bit down again, harder this time. It was no longer pleasurable, tears leaked out the edge of Ryoko's eyes as his teeth sank deeper into her sensitive skin, drawing blood as red as the flowers on her kimono.

A thin trickle of blood ran down her back from the deep puncture in her flesh. Akito smirked, licking the blood off his lips and her skin, his tongue flicking, and drawing out the forbidden shivers and sensations that made Ryoko's blood boil and run hot. His tongue darted into her ear, making her chest tighten and her core ache.

Her breaths were cut short by the sinister silken touch of Akito's whip. He wrapped it artfully around her slender neck, snickering to himself at his insane genius. He pulled the whip tight, curling it beneath his fingers, twisting the cord against Ryoko's flesh. He suddenly yanked it, this way and that, trying to rip her breaths out of her very soul. The whip burned against her neck, she couldn't breathe. So tight, too tight. She couldn't see clearly, the room was spinning, she felt lightheaded. It hurt, like she'd never imagined anything hurting before. She never thought that anything in the whole world could hurt this much, that anything could bring her this much pain.

As the room started to fade Ryoko thought back to Kyo. To Shigure, and that house. To her Big Brother Gabriel, her Father, and the Mother she never knew. Her Mother had died in childbirth, giving Ryoko life. Ryoko was confident that if no one else in the world loved her, that at least her Mother in Heaven did. She thought she saw her Mother's smiling face swimming before her eyes like a phantom angel in a fleeting vision, she feebly reached a trembling hand upward, ' Mother…?' she silently wondered. An odd pain burst and bloomed at the base of her skull, and the world… went black…

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

Jaded By Rain

By, Jamie1317kast

It may be possible to die of a broken heart, but it takes no courage to die for that which you love. It is possible to live with a mended heart, and the real courage lies in living for that which you love.

Disclaimer: I do not own Furuba, they are copyright to Natsuki Takaya-sensei. My own characters are Ryoko Sohma, Gabriel Sohma, Takamichi Sohma, Taichii Okinawa, Rumiko Young-Li, Chang Wong, Shi Fu-Li, Xiao Fua, Yueh Sohma, Saizo Chung, and if any other of my characters pop up I'll let you know.

Author's Notes: the song that appears in this chapter, " Forbidden Touch," was written and is copyrighted to me because I wrote it. It will appear in all _Italics_. Don't steal.

Rated NC17 for adult situations, and lovemaking. (Just for this chapter)

Forbidden Touch:

_Ryoko stared up at the blue sky, an abyss that never ended, eternal openness and peace. She felt the Sun on her bare skin, but it did not hurt her eyes to look up. _

" _Am I in Heaven?" She wondered aloud. The heat waves rose and made the air shimmer like ocean currents. Ryoko realized that she was lying in the middle of a desert, surrounded by sand and blue sky. Oh, and she was naked. _

_However, this did not seem to bother her, if indeed, she did notice her lack of clothing. She lay on the sand, soaking in the Sun as Cats do when they find a particular windowsill suited to their fancy. She breathed out, relaxed. If this was Heaven, an eternity of soaking in the summer Sun, peaceful and calm, Ryoko didn't mind being dead. Not one bit. _

_The thing in superstitions about the realms of spirits is that you forget. Simply being there, for whatever purpose, makes you forget. Ryoko has forgotten all those who once might have cared for her, lost in the warmth of the desert Sun._

_Suddenly, Ryoko felt a jolt of pain in her chest. She dug her fingers into the sand, felt her soul slipping; she didn't want to leave her warm place. She clung on to that feeling of warmth and peace. She cried out when another jolt of pain shocked her into releasing her grip…_

_She fell…_

_Fell…_

_Fell_ back…

Fell back into her body, and remembered.

The room was spinning, so she closed her eyes again. She'd seen colors, orange, black, mostly white, and voices spun around as easily as cake mix in a mixing bowl. She couldn't see the walls for the room and she didn't want to try again. Her chest hurt terribly, and her heart ached in a way she hadn't thought possible since Yuki had stopped speaking to her.

She remembered, oh God, she remembered Yuki. Her blood rushed and her heart pained her more with every beat, ' Yuki, oh God, Yuki. No, no.' His rejection, his face twisted with betrayal and disgust. Ryoko bore the pain of using her throbbing vocal cords, she keened, a high-pitched sound conjured by grief. " Noooooo…Yukiiiiiii…" The voice was barely but a whisper in a room filled with several people trying to get her attention all at once.

" Ryoko? Ryoko!" A familiar voice called out to her, anxious, and loving. That voice, like her Big Brother's before it, reached out a hand to her. And that hand offered to lead her from her solitude at long last, that hand offered her real love, and happiness. She dared to open her eyes once more, to brave the room and the people in it, and…

To embrace her future.

Kyo stared down at Ryoko; with Hatori at his side to monitor Ryoko and make sure neither of them did anything drastic. Like taking their lives into their own hands, for example. These children were much too young for the drama of suicide and heartbreak, at least in Hatori's professional opinion.

He watched Ryoko open her eyes again; she had opened them earlier but closed them after a moment. Kyo had been grieving in the corner of the hospital-like room in Hatori's house for his dead love. For he did love her, and Hatori was happy that Kyo had found someone he was able to care about so deeply after the horrors in his own past and in his own body.

When she had opened her eyes for the first time after Hatori had shocked her with those round electrical clamps that were used by paramedics to jumpstart a person's heart, Hatori had told Kyo rather firmly that she was, in fact, not dead. Upon this confirmation that Ryoko was breathing again and appeared to be medically stable, Kyo had leapt to his feet and vied for Ryoko's attention. She had clamped her eyes tightly shut, not wanting to open them. Hatori was possibly the only other person besides Ryoko who knew why she had tried to have Akito kill her. She had been rejected in love because she was the Cat.

She had wanted to die because she could not stand looking at a world where that was true.

" Kyo?" Ryoko reached a hesitant hand out to him, and he took it. Kyo clasped her hand tightly in his, " I'm here, it's okay now Ryoko. I'm here." He sat down next to her on the bed, leaned down, and embraced her tightly. " God," Kyo choked out, " I thought I'd lost you for good. I called out to you, but you didn't hear me."

However much Kyo steeled himself against his tears, they escaped out of his eyes and ran down his cheeks to land on Ryoko's head. Ryoko's body hurt too much to try to move, so she lay nestled in Kyo's arms, a loving embrace. She forced herself to speak, " How did you…?" no good, her throat ached and pained her and made it difficult to voice herself. " I was gonna to surprise you, after all, it is Christmas morning." Ryoko barely heard Kyo's explanation as to why he had known where she was because she was in so much pain. She assumed that it was he who had saved her from Akito's grasp, and she was right.

" I went into your room when you didn't knock, I thought you were a asleep. An' I just… well, I saw your diary on your bed and…" Here Kyo blushed, he'd read a girl's diary. If Ryoko were feeling better she'd have beaten him senseless with a pillow for doing it. " An' then I thought ' Well, shit! I'd better stop her!' And so… here I am." He tried for a smile and a casual shrug. Ryoko accepted his explanation of how he'd known; now she just wanted to know why he'd bothered. When she asked this question the answer made him blush, her cry with happiness, and Hatori smile with amusement.

" 'Cuz, well…'cuz I love you, Ryoko. An' I wanna be with you always."

_' How can it be, that after all that, after I pushed you away for so many months, that after all this time you would be the one. That you would be the one to say the words I needed to hear the most right now… how?'_

Ryoko returned to the house several hours later in the fading afternoon, with Kyo at her side. Shigure stood on the porch and watched them. ' They really are the perfect couple.' He thought,

' I wonder how soon they'll start having sex. Hmmm, I wonder indeed.' Shigure's thoughts drifted along their usual perverted track, filled with romance, high school girls, and lots and lots of sex.

Men.

Oh, and Dogs.

That evening Ryoko and Kyo were heading up onto the roof when Shigure called out of his study, " Now don't you two go having sex on my roof!" in his normal singsong voice. Sure, of course, that that was exactly what they were going to do. At least now that he'd given them the suggestion. They loved each other, after all, and then why shouldn't they have sex?

Kyo blushed, " You sick BASTARD!" Kyo went to punch Shigure, but was lead away by Ryoko who giggled at his antics.

Shigure snickered evilly to himself. If they were going to fuck on the roof then Shigure was sure to listen in; he needed more inspiration for his romance novels anyway.

" Perverted old Dog, can't even talk about what he wants for breakfast with out sounding like he's living some R-rated fantasy of his. It makes me sick! And he always has that stupid grin on his face, like he knows something we don't an' he wants to rub it in. Jeez, it pisses me off." Kyo sat down on the roof with Ryoko next to him, ranting about Shigure and his usual perverted antics. Ryoko nodded to show that she understood Shigure was himself after all.

She started to say something, but was cut off by Kyo's lips. They held the kiss for far longer than either had ever done, and when they surfaced for breath, there was a look in their eyes that hadn't been there before. Ryoko's chest heaved, Kyo was breathing heavily.

He put a hand on the side of her face, and she leaned against his touch. His fingertips danced around her face, tracing the patterns of her skin in the dark. Her flesh felt warm, a small tingling, a spark that rushed and jumped from her skin to his. The air was nearly electric between them, making the hair on Kyo's arm stand on end. He looked at her pleading when he felt himself begin to ache inside, his eyes reaching out for her.

" Kyo, do you want to?" Her voice was barely a whisper but Kyo heard her perfectly. He grinned, " Sure, let's humor the old Dog."

A cold winter breeze blew out across the forest valley, making the stars shiver and the midnight dew crystallize on the grass. The world was cold, animals curled up against one another for warmth, and a certain novelist curled up with a kotatsu and strained his ear for the sounds of love being made on the roof.

Shigure turned on the radio, set it out on the porch, and tuned it to a station playing Enrique Iglesias. Confidant that the music of Life's sound track would push the two Cats on the roof to the final threshold of love.

_Nestled in your arms, limbs twisted the way the ivy twines,_

His hands caressed her face, memorizing every inch of skin, and moved in soothing motions that made him more anxious than before. He then took Ryoko up in his arms and held her close next to his beating heart.

_Lip-locked embrace, eyes sparkle like a dim-lit diamond mine._

With a swift and fluid motion Kyo caught Ryoko's lips with his, her eyes glittering, reflecting the starlight. Their tongues danced together, up and over, exploring and darting in and out of each other's mouths. Finding their place, their dominance, communicating through intimate touches.

_Forbidden sensations when your lips touch my skin,_

Kyo broke the kiss just long enough to take his shirt off, pulling it over his shoulders. He then leaned forward again, planting kisses along Ryoko's jaw, then down her neck. When he came to her kimono, he didn't stop but kept going, pulling down the thin fabric like brushing aside a curtain. Her skin was so soft, Kyo's already hard erection responding quicker than he ever thought possible.

_I'm shutting my heart down, and living the sin._

He tenderly kissed the bite wound Akito had made earlier, then kissed the nape of her neck. She shivered each time he kissed her; she wrapped her arms around his bare back, pressing herself closer to his chest.

_I'll give in to the sweet of your rose-petal lips,_

He pulled his head up, bringing his lips back to hers tenderly. His hands were working franticly on his belt, trying to undo the walls of clothing between them. When he succeeded, he gently laid Ryoko down and pulled off the rest of his clothing, boxers and all. Kyo leaned over her, not breaking the kiss, and undid the red obi belt of her kimono. He then opened the kimono, exposing her dark flesh to the cold winter air. Kyo pulled away from Ryoko, and they both stared at each other for what seemed like more than the few moments it actually was.

Though filled with passion, heat and love, the small doubt that they would reject each other's ugliness was no small factor in both of their hearts. Ryoko was the first to overcome those feelings. She moved her legs so Kyo was kneeling between them, and gently slid her hips against his.

Kyo forgot all else as Ryoko moved against his exposed erection. He moaned, and proceeded to finish what they'd started.

_Hidden touches too far, now we can't call it quits._

Afterwards, Kyo and Ryoko lay on the roof, listening to the stars calling softly to one another and to the sound of the American radio on the porch below. Ryoko's kimono stretching to cover them both, though they forgot the cold in the warmth of their own embraces. A streak of light burst and raced across the night sky, " Look Kyo!" Ryoko half-whispered, " A shooting star. Quick! Let's make a wish."

So they wished silently, Kyo wished for Ryoko to always be there with him. And Ryoko wished too, though exactly what she wished for has yet to be seen.

_Secret promises, yes, I love you so much,_

_So give in to the beauty of the Night's forbidden touch._


	5. Chapter 5

Jaded By Rain

By, Jamie1317kast

In the world today the price of Freedom is the taking of many lives, the sacrifice of few for the overall good of many. But this struggle is a world away. What if the price of Freedom was, instead, much closer? What if the price of Freedom was nearer or dearer to your heart than you ever expected it to be… would you still be willing to pay the price?

Disclaimer: I do not own Furuba, they are copyright to Natsuki Takaya-sensei. My own characters are Ryoko Sohma, Gabriel Sohma, Takamichi Sohma, Taichii Okinawa, Rumiko Young-Li, Chang Wong, Shi Fu-Li, Xiao Fua, Yueh Sohma, Saizo Chung, and if any other of my characters pop up I'll let you know.

Author's Notes: so far, of my own characters, you have only really met Ryoko Sohma. The characters that you have seen pieces of and/or only heard about are Gabriel Sohma, Takamichi Sohma, Taichii Okinawa, Rumiko Young-Li, and Saizo Chung. Let's do a quick rundown/review of who's who since you'll be meeting some of these people in the upcoming chapters.

Ryoko Sohma Lead Character, Cat. Moved to Japan from China.

Gabriel Sohma Ryoko's older brother, Rat. Leader of the Chinese Mafia, and a ninja.

Takamichi Sohma Ryoko's father, Dragon. Real-estate agent, ran off with an outsider (Ryoko's mom.)

Taichii Okinawa Son of the Japanese ambassador to China, Outsider. Raped Ryoko when she was 14.

Rumiko Young-Li Ryoko's Mother, Outsider. Daughter of the previous leader of the Chinese Mafia.

Saizo Chung An old friend of Ryoko's, Outsider.

Oh, and I'm telling you right now, Takamichi's character probably isn't going to make any sense. Or at least he'll be hard to figure out. Just so you know.

Rated R for adult situations and just in case.

The Price of Freedom:

New Year's came and went, with the Cats falling more deeply in love with each other than ever before. Once Ryoko learned that she could not attend the Zodiac Banquet, she flat out refused to go. _" I'm not going to the party just so people can laugh about my not attending the Banquet with the rest of you. You can tell Akito to stick it where the Sun don't shine, 'cuz frankly I don't give a damn."_

Kyo had all but agreed with Ryoko. So the two of them had stayed home for New Year's. They'd had sex just about everywhere in the house, with the wickedly delicious feeling that they were doing something illegal. With their teenage hormones driving them, Kyo and Ryoko had sex everywhere but the ceiling. The stairs, the porch, the roof, the kotatsu, against the wall, in the shower, the bathtub, the upstairs hallway, the downstairs hallway, the kitchen floor, Kyo's room, Ryoko's room, even Yuki's room just for shits and grins, Shigure's room, and Shigure's writing table in his study just to name a few places.

Naked and lovemaking hour after hour, they began to love each other all over again. Learning just where to touch each other to get the most desired re-actions, so that by the 3rd day after New Year's, their sex couldn't have been more perfect.

Shigure and Yuki returned home on the 3rd after New Year's. Yuki was in good spirits because he was finally away from Sohma House, and Shigure as well because he was looking forward to a whole 'nother year of torturing his editor.

Upon entering the house Shigure's nose perked up, true to his Dog-self, Shigure had an inhuman sense of smell. Though Ryoko and Kyo were sitting quietly around the kotatsu reading and watching TV, Shigure would truly be a fool if he couldn't smell the scent of excessive sex. He continued to watch them quietly after greeting them, trying to scent out exactly how many times they'd done it.

Yuki, oblivious and half-asleep, eventually found his way up the stairs and to his room, flopping down on his bed. Ryoko and Kyo glanced at each other, and snickered. Ryoko burst out into uncontrollable laughter and Kyo along with her. Even Shigure couldn't resist a chuckle or two, that is, until he made his way into his own rooms.

' On my writing…table…oh my…my bed…' Shigure's thoughts faltered as he looked around his room and study, " You two are disgusting!" he called out down the hall.

Ryoko and Kyo laughed harder. " W-we know!" They choked out between hilarious bursts and fits of laughter, each one funnier than the last.

A bright sunny day, rather warm for such an early spring. But the perfect day, nonetheless, for a whopping game of volleyball to kick off everyone's Junior (2nd) year of high school. The new term had only that day just begun and already Ryoko felt the indefatigable pressure of the coming year pressing down upon her shoulders.

Ryoko gathered herself, Kyo, Yuki, Hatsuharu, and Momiji. Momiji opted to keep score in his notebook, while the two Cats decided to play against the Rat and the Ox. As Kyo and the rest took their places, he shouted out across the park-court to Yuki. " I'm gonna beat you this time you damn Rat!" He yelled, pointing at Yuki who just sighed.

" Wait, wait, I think I've heard this one before." Yuki sarcastically shot back to Kyo who growled and projected obscenities in Yuki's general direction.

The game started with Haru serving the ball, continuing in a fierce battle excluding both the Ox and Ryoko. Neither boy was willing to give up; they were both as stubborn as…well…men.

When the ball finally fell on Kyo's side with a point going to Yuki, Ryoko got to serve. She held the ball up; ready to strike it across and over the net when she stopped.

Ryoko's eyes were transfixed on the court entrance, or rather, the man standing at the gate itself. Eyes wide, the ball dropped, bouncing away. With each bounce of the ball Ryoko's heart skipped, she couldn't believe it.

A breeze picked up and blew Ryoko's braids out, also causing the man's snow-white hair to fall adorably into his eyes. He puffed his cheeks out, and blew the straying strands to dance away from his face.

_" Xiao Mei…"_ The man intoned softly, though Ryoko heard him perfectly. " Nii-san!" She cried out joyfully, "_ Da geh!_ Big Brother!" Forgetting Kyo and the others, she ran to him, braids flying out behind her like ribbons. He caught her up in his arms, holding her tight. " Little Sister, how I have missed you. I am so happy that you, too, are also happy."

Kyo realized that this was him, the brother he'd read about in Ryoko's diary. Gabriel Sohma, a Rat, and the leader of the Chinese Mafia.

" It's been so long Ga-nii-san!" Ryoko smiled at her brother, " Yes, it has been far too long, Ry-nee-chan." Gabriel smiled back at her. Kyo and the others watched from afar. For reasons he couldn't explain, Kyo was suddenly jealous of Gabriel. Gabriel was holding Ryoko much too close, and was being far too familiar with her for Kyo's liking. But neither was Kyo stupid, he wouldn't pick a fight with Gabriel, not with the don of the Chinese Mafia.

Gabriel was white, not just his hair, but his cloths as well. He wore formal pants, a butler's shirt with cuffs on the end, a tight vest, and a tie. All were white. Oh, not to mention his slacks (shoes) were white as well. His skin was of a Chinese tan, the same as Ryoko's. And his eyes were red. A brilliant color that shone out like illuminated blood.

However, despite Gabriel's odd appearance, he gave off a distinct air of calm and gentleness. He spoke softly, his formal Japanese even more decorous than Yuki's way of speaking. A liquid tenor, with his white apparel drapped around him, one might vaguely wonder if Gabriel was not an Angel sent from Heaven rather than a Mafia don.

Gabriel released his sister and smiled. Then, he turned and gestured to the parked car behind him. Kyo's mouth dropped. A limo, long and sleek and white, was pulled up next to the curb. Kyo felt inadequate.

The door to the car opened slowly, and a man stepped out. He was shorter than Gabriel was, but taller than Ryoko. His pale skin was tired and wrinkled his green eyes dulled and old. His graying hair was pulled back to the base of his neck, and his likewise grey kimono only served to make him look smaller than he really was. Ryoko's father, Takamichi Sohma, a Dragon.

Kyo was too far away to hear what they were saying, not that it would have mattered, and the three of them were conversing in Chinese anyways. Ryoko looked happy, a smile lighting up her face, as did Gabriel, nodding his head as his sister talked. But Takamichi did not look happy, it wasn't as if he was simply tired from his journey, Kyo could tell. The man forced himself to smile; forced himself to look like he was enjoying himself. As Ryoko babbled on, Takamichi's old eyes scanned his daughter, widening when he saw her bare wrists.

Takamichi cut Ryoko off in mid-sentence, grabbing her left wrist and holding it up. In Japanese, " What have you done?" his strained tone implied his anxious thoughts, as if she might revert to her true form at any moment, " Why in Buddha's name are you not wearing your beads?" he pressed her. Kyo didn't like the way things were going.

Ryoko started to reply but her father cut her off, " You know how dangerous it is to not were them!" His eyes darting this way and that, as if afraid the rain might start at any moment. " Find them, and put them back on!" His demand boosting Kyo's anger meter, he had thought that Ryoko's father loved her.

" Yes Father." Ryoko replied her eyes downcast. Kyo approached, he wouldn't let Ryoko take this guy's shit anymore, even if he was her father. " Hey! She doesn't need her beads, okay? She's happy without them, so take a chill pill. Jeez!"

Takamichi half-glared at Kyo, " Cats can never be happy. I see that you are one as well, a Cat." It was Kyo's turn to look down at his feet; he hated being the Cat. " My apologies, I haven't introduced myself. I am Ryoko's father, Takamichi Sohma. And you are?" He forced his smile again and held out his hand for Kyo to shake.

" Kyo." Kyo replied, not taking his hand, he didn't much like Takamichi and he wasn't going to try. He didn't see how Ryoko didn't notice how fake her father was being, it was so obvious to Kyo that he was lying he couldn't understand how Ryoko accepted his fake smiles. Then it hit Kyo. Takamichi must have lied to Ryoko ever since she was little, telling her how much he loved her, when what he must have really longed to do was throw her off a cliff or something. Kyo could see it, Takamichi loathed Cats, and it was why he even bothered to make the effort with his daughter that confused Kyo.

Takamichi went on to say that he was supposed to meet with Akito about something, and would they like to come along and wait in the car. Ryoko agreed that, yes, of course, they would love too. So, waving goodbye to Momiji, Hatsuharu, and Yuki; Ryoko, her family, and Kyo all piled into the limo and sped off.

Alone and tired, Takamichi entered Akito's greeting chamber. Akito had had Hatori do some background research on Ryoko's immediate family, and he learned much. He learned that Gabriel had inherited the Chinese Mafia when the previous don had died, he had been Gabriel's grandfather on his mother's side.

He learned that Ryoko's mother had died giving birth to her, and that her father had never forgiven her for it. He learned she had been raped at the age of fourteen and vowed someday to use this knowledge against her. He learned, also, about Ryoko's father.

He learned that Takamichi Sohma had flat-out denied the orders of the previous head of the Sohma family and run off with an Outsider. He then interpreted that, because Takamichi had denied his God- and his own brother at that-, he was feeling very, very guilty. And, what is worse, he was right.

Takamichi threw himself to the tatami-matted floor beneath him. He crawled, humbly, and disgracefully across the room to the area before Akito's feet. His dull eyes fixed on the ground, he whimpered, " I-I'm not worthy, Kami-sama. My Lord, Kami-sama, forgive me for I have sinned." He gave Akito the highest respect one living man could give another, the status of God Himself.

Though Akito was clearly disgusted at what should have been a dignified man's behavior, he was also, in a sick and twisted way, enjoying this display of humiliation.

" You're right." Akito smirked, his lips twisted upward in what could only be called a smile by the mental ill, " You're not worthy. But, I suppose I shall forgive you, if, that is… you beg me for forgiveness." His eyes glinted maliciously, savoring each precious moment of this broken man's submission.

And Takamichi did beg, an awful sight. Like a Dog, kicked too many times, Takamichi presented his person. He whimpered, cried, begged, and pleaded for his Lord's forgiveness. He crouched low before Akito, kissing the hems of his robe, calling him ' Kami-sama'. At long last, Akito held a hand to stay Takamichi's pitiful whining.

" You're forgiven." Akito smirked, a sprite-ish smile playing across his lips.

" Now, what did you come here for? I assume you wanted to ask me something about Ryoko_-Neko-perro_ (Cat-Bitch-Ryoko)?" Knowing full well what the broken Dragon would be asking for, and… what the price would be.

Takamichi looked down, ashamed to be asking anything for a Cat, but feeling obligated to ask for his Daughter. " I know what happens to the Cats after they graduate High School, Kami-sama. I was wondering if-" Takamichi was cut off.

" If I could do different for Ryoko_-Neko-perro?_" Akito grinned; of course he would let her go. You could get anything you wanted in the world; life was full of possibilities. You could have anything, for the right price. If Ryoko had been the one asking for her freedom, not that she even knew about the Cat's fate what with living in China for most of her life, Akito knew she wouldn't have agreed to the price. But Takamichi, so eager to please his Lord, would agree to any price. No price was too large when someone wanted to get back in favor with his or her God. In fact, Takamichi was so desperate to be in Akito's good graces, that he would murder himself to make Akito happy. And for a man that desperate, the price Akito asked him to agree to have Ryoko pay, did not seem so high.

" The price is…" He waited, drawing out the silence until neither he, nor the Dragon could stand it. " Ryoko's first born child."

Takamichi sighed; his entire posture seemed to say, ' Oh, is that all?' " Of course she will give you her first born, Kami-sama. _Domo-arigatou-gozaimasu!_" (Thank you so very, very much!)

" My WHAT!" Ryoko's response resonated throughout the limo's interior. After Takamichi had explained that Cats get locked in the Cat's House for the rest of their lives after High School, Ryoko had silently resolved to run away. She had waited in sick anticipation as to what the price had been for her freedom, and flipped.

" Stop this car! Stop it right now!" She yelled, screamed, and stamped her feet. She had every right in the world to act childish. Her own father, her _father,_ had basically sold her out to the one person in the world she hated more than Taichii Okinawa, Akito Sohma.

Her father's attempts to calm his daughter only resulted in more fits and bursts of rage. Kyo couldn't believe it either; he was now dead sure that Takamichi didn't love his daughter. He was sure, that Takamichi loved only himself.

A few moments after Takamichi had, bowing and scraping the floor, left Akito, a figure removed itself from the shadows. Akito turned and smiled back at the man behind him, the man's face shrouded in shadow. Akito spoke first; " There you have it, then. She's ripe and ready for the taking, you know. I'd steal her away now, if I were you, before she gets too attached to that freak Kyo."

The mysterious man's perfect lips moved upward in a demon's imitation at a smile, " She'll be walking, I can catch up to her quite easily. Thank you, Akito-sama. I have more than I need to complete my original task." This being said in a rather oily voice, the man walked to the door.

" One question." Akito's statement made the man hesitate, " Why have you come back? I was under the impression that you were quite dead." Not that it mattered to Akito; they had already come to terms with what the man wanted from Ryoko.

The man smirked, twisting his red tie beneath his fingertips, thinking of just what it was he was going to do to Ryoko once he got hold of her. " I've come back for a very simple reason, Akito-sama." His brown eyes glittered.

" To break her."

Ryoko charged down the sidewalk, Kyo hot on her heels. " I'm never speaking to him again!" She cried, nevertheless fishing her beads out of her pocket, she'd learned her lesson the first time it rained. " How could he do this to me! I'm SO not speaking to him ever again!"

Kyo, not for the first time, could completely sympathize with her. She felt betrayed. Everyone had experienced betrayal at some point in their lives, the Zodiac just more than others had. He caught up to her, catching her arm, bringing her into a tight embrace. " It's all right, I love you Ryoko." He soothed her, pacified her, and stroked her hair. Gently scratched her behind the ears, the caress no self-respecting Cat could ever resist.

She calmed against him, letting her stress melt away. Breathing easier now that Kyo was there beside her. Their heartbeats mingled together, their breaths steadying together. Ryoko whispered against Kyo's chest, " There's something I need to tell you Kyo. It's such a big deal to me, not just because he's my Father and all, but for another reason all together. The price of Freedom is closer to being paid than you think."

Kyo's heart sped up again. He could hear the capital 'F' on Freedom, and more than that. He was shaking all over; Ryoko wasn't going to say what he thought she was going to say… was she?

Ryoko pulled away from Kyo, keeping her arms wrapped around him. She looked him in the eye, " I went to see Hatori a few days ago and, well… I-I'm-" Her confession was cut short by the arrival of the mysterious man who had been conversing with Akito.

" My, my, Ryoko-_neko._" The man interrupted nastily, savoring the look on both teenagers' faces. " It's been far, far too long. You haven't forgotten me, have you?" His smirk betraying his unparalleled delight as all the blood left in Ryoko's face went running for cover.

She turned at the sound of a voice she hoped she'd never have to hear again in her life. Her eyes widening, her heart racing, the happy place she'd had a moment ago was gone. It was as far away as she wanted to run from this man. And believe me, that was very, very far indeed.

She could hardly believe it was him. But there he was, standing in front of her. With his wicked brown eyes, greasy black hair, and perfect-lipped smile, she knew who he was, oh yes, she knew. How could she not know the image, red tie and all, of the man who had raped her, so many years ago?

Taichii Okinawa.


	6. Chapter 6

Jaded By Rain

By, Jamie1317kast

Trapped inside, you look for a place to turn. With your hollow eyes, desperate reaches touch iron. God grant me speed. God see me through. God, give me wings so that I might soar. So that I might soar away from bitterness and heartache, and finally have a place to call my own.

Disclaimer: I do not own Furuba, they are copyright to Natsuki Takaya-sensei. My own characters are Ryoko Sohma, Gabriel Sohma, Takamichi Sohma, Taichii Okinawa, Rumiko Young-Li, Yueh Sohma, Saizo Chung, and if any other of my characters pop up I'll let you know.

Rated R for adult situations and just in case.

Give Me Wings:

_God grant me speed. God see me through. God, give me wings so that I might soar. Anything, God, anything. Just keep that man away from me!_

Taichii advanced upon Ryoko, shoving Kyo out of the way. Ryoko's silent prayer went unheard. Her entire being pulled up it's defenses, her shields quavered under Taichii's sinister aura. He reached out a cold hand to touch her face, " I've missed you, my dear Ryoko." Kyo watched, too stunned to move, as Taichii brought his face in and caught Ryoko's lips in a rough imitation of a kiss.

Ryoko shuddered down to her very soul, her entire body rejected his presence, but still he held her captive. She couldn't move, couldn't defend herself. Memories of the rape she had endured at his hands echoed back across her mind, like stilled snapshots in a photo album.

_" Stop struggling you stupid girl!" _

" _No! Daddy, help me! Somebody, anybody!"_

" _Hold still!"_

" _Leave me alone!"_

" _Shut up!"_

" _Please…" _

" _No one's gonna save you now. Now hold still and...what the FUCK is that!"_

Ryoko remembered. Remembering that she'd taken her life into her own hands by robbing him of his, and that memory somehow gave her strength.

She shoved him away, and, what's more, slapped him across his face. Leaving scratch marks where her nails had met his flesh. Kyo sprung into action, punching, kicking, giving Ryoko an opening to run. " Go on!" He shouted at her. " Run!"

There was no need for more words. Ryoko turned and fled, determined to have her legs carry her as far away from that evil man as possible.

" Shigure!" Ryoko called, bursting in through the front door, not bothering to kick off her shoes. " Shigure!" She called again, scrambling up the stairs to her room. Once inside the haven of her four walls, Ryoko threw open a duffel bag and began to pack. Hastily, she shoved clothing, assorted food stuffs, a few odds and ends, and feminine hygiene products into the bag.

Then, she paused. Taking out and discarding the last item she'd shoved into her bag. Ryoko sighed, she wouldn't be needing tampons or pads for the months' journey ahead. The price of Freedom, her first born child, was much closer to being paid than anybody could really guess.

Ryoko continued to pack, going into Kyo's room and taking some of his things as well. All the while remembering the conversation she'd had with Hatori not too long ago.

_It was her annual checkup, Hatori had kept a rather close eye on Ryoko's health after her attempt at suicide. She hated the main house, but Hatori insisted she make the journey. _

_After inviting her in, he'd done all the things a doctor was supposed to do for his patient. Blood pressure, eyes, reflexes, that sort of thing. Then he had asked her how she'd been feeling lately. She replied that she had been feeling a little nauseated in the mornings, but it usually went away, though the symptom itself had been re-occurring for several weeks now. _

_Hatori had looked thoughtful for a while, resting his chin in the palm of his hand, tapping his pen on the surface of his desk. His swinging clock had ticked and tocked away the better part of an hour before Hatori had risen to his feet. He rummaged through the 'women only' medical drawers of his desk until he found what he had been looking for, a pregnancy test kit._

_He had given Ryoko the kit, the instructions, and escorted her to the bathroom. Closing the door behind her, he had said, " When you're finished, come see me." While Ryoko had made use of the pregnancy test, Hatori was pacing in his study. ' I thought Shigure was only joking about how much sex Ryoko and Kyo were having, it never occurred to me to believe him.' Hatori had thought._

_As it turned out, Ryoko was indeed a month pregnant. Hatori cautioned her to be extra careful, watch her diet, and her exercise. Before she left, he had also asked her when she planned to tell Kyo. Ryoko had replied with a grin in her eyes, " I will let him know when the time comes. When that is, however, depends. I can't wait to see how surprised he'll be."_

_When she'd left, Hatori sat back in his chair. " You're not the only one." He said to no one in particular. Then, he had picked up the phone to call Kazuma._

Ryoko charged down the stairs, duffel bag in hand and full to bursting. " Shigure!" She called again. The novelist peeked out from around his paper, " Ryoko, what.." Sparing no time, Ryoko launched her request.

" I'm leaving." Her announcement nearly knocked the writer off his ass. " Tell Kyo I'm headed to Kazuma's. _Only_ Kyo. If anybody else asks where I am or where I've gone, don't tell them." Ryoko grabbed a map from Shigure's study and scooted out into the yard. As she was heading into the woods, Shigure came out onto the porch to watch her leave.

" What are you running from?" The question stopped Ryoko in her tracks, it was asked so seriously. She turned. She had thought Shigure was only capable of useless babble, she was wrong. Shigure may usually act like a fool, but he wasn't one. Ryoko shrugged, as if the answer didn't matter either way to her.

" My past."

They arrived together, there's no telling how they did it. Ryoko and Kyo both met on the front lawn of Kazuma's mountain cabin. Kyo was the first to move, he embraced Ryoko tightly. A bruise bloomed on his lower jaw, evidence that he wasn't unaffected by Taichii either.

Kazuma welcomed them into his home with out explanation, and for that, Kyo was grateful. That night, when Kyo couldn't sleep, he made his way out onto the porch. It was a warm spring night, the stars could be seen clearly, the moon was full, and a rather large cherry tree in the yard was in full bloom.

" You know that she's pregnant, right?" Kazuma's voice in the darkness scared the shit out of Kyo. " N-no. Well, I mean, I guessed. But, yeah…" Kyo tried to get his heart working right again.

Kazuma came to stand next to his adopted son, looking out over the mountains in the distance and the drop-off at the edge of the yard. " Hatori told me as soon as he found out." Kazuma spoke softly, the silence from Kyo the only answer he needed.

" Do you plan on getting married to her? You certainly don't want a child born out of wedlock, now do you?" Kyo looked at his adopted father, realizing that he was suggesting getting married _without_ Akito's permission. Kyo grinned, he'd never liked that bastard anyway. " I've got some sake and a bible around the house somewhere." Kazuma stated, his eyes smiling. " Now, if only we had some-"

" I have some wedding rings." Ryoko's unexpected voice from dark of the threshold to the interior of the house caused both men to jump. With pounding hearts they both watched as Ryoko emerged into the soft moonlight, the stars kissing her cheeks. She reached down to the ends of her braids and slid off two gold rings. She had once explained to Kyo that they had once been her parent's rings, but when her mother had died, she had passed on her wedding ring to her daughter. Her husband, who loved his wife dearly, had followed suit. " I keep them with me always." She whispered, handing one to Kyo and keeping the other for herself.

Under the cherry tree in the soft glow of the spring moonlight, Ryoko and Kyo were married. They had barely sealed their marital union with a kiss when crashing sounds were heard on the path.

Ryoko looked up in fear, Kyo held her tightly. Kazuma looked to them, " Go!" he half-whispered, " Go!" making shooing motions with his hands. Kyo took Ryoko's hand, pulling her across the clearing to the edge of the drop-off.

Looking down over the edge, Ryoko could see that there was a steep and rugged path. " Are you seriously going down that?" Her common sense momentarily overriding her urge to run. " Yup." Kyo replied, already making his way down. " And you're coming with me."

" Are you crazy? I'll get killed!" Kyo looked up and met Ryoko's blue gaze with his fiery one, " Then 'till death do us part." He reached out a hand to help her. She closed her eyes, took a deep breathe, then opened them again.

" 'Till death do us part."

The figure of Taichii watched them go, fiddling and fixing his red tie, an ominous presence. Akito approached him, " You're going to let them get away?" not believing the might-be truth of his own question.

" Of course not, Akito-sama." Taichii replied, with a look like fire burning in his eyes. The unbridled passion Taichii held for causing others pain was akin that of a demon's, and his love for the chase akin to that of an expert hunter's. " I'm just giving them a head start."


	7. Chapter 7

Jaded By Rain

By, Jamie1317kast

_The Road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, and I must follow, if I can, pursuing it with eager feet, until it joins some larger way, where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say. Tolkien_

Disclaimer: I do not own Furuba, they are copyright to Natsuki Takaya-sensei. My own characters are Ryoko Sohma, Gabriel Sohma, Takamichi Sohma, Taichii Okinawa, Rumiko Young-Li, Yueh Sohma, Saizo Chung, and if any other of my characters pop up I'll let you know. Any resemblance to other copyrighted characters was an accident and completely unintentional as I only claim my characters and nobody else's. I don't own Tolkien or J.M. Barrie. I have used their quotes in this chapter.

Author's Notes:

Something I have just come to realize, and I swear it was unintentional, is that two of my characters resemble characters in the movie Constantine.

Taichii Okinawa closely resembles (what's-his-face) Malthazar, or something like that. He's the guy that kept flipping the coin around his fingers. One of my friends, who went to see the movie before I did remarked, " He looked JUST LIKE Taichii! And before Constantine came through the door and blew him away, he was FIXING his RED tie!"

Ah, sweet coincidence.

The other is my character Gabriel. When I originally created him, he was on Earth for God's purpose. (What ever that might be.) Now, however, he's just the don of the Chinese Mafia and a ninja. This is also cool, but also very different. Gabriel does look a bit like the Angel Gabriel in Constantine, except he never wears anything but white, his hair is white, and it's not curly in any way, shape, or form.

Rated R for adult situations and just in case.

The Road Goes Ever On:

The road was long and perilous. From Kazuma's mountain cabin, Ryoko and Kyo headed north. The journey was not as easy as one might expect it to be, Ryoko had left her duffel bag, food, and money in Kazuma's cabin. The two of them had been in such a hurry to get away; they hadn't had time to collect their necessities.

They ran on, and never once did they look back.

Once back in the city, Ryoko and Kyo were extremely wary. They flitted through back alleys and down side streets, keeping to the shadows. After they were good and lost, Kyo turned to look at Ryoko. She slumped down against the side of the building behind them, sighing.

She looked tired, her face was pale. Her blue eyes were frightened and her hair was a mess. She held up her left hand and stared at the gold band encircling her finger. Ryoko turned to Kyo, " Kyo…" she half whispered.

" Yeah?" He responded. Then, guessing at what she was going to say, he said,

" Master told me, and I'm sure our baby is gonna be just as beautiful as you are. Yes, I really mean that. Of course I'm willing to run to the ends of the Earth to get away from that bastard. And no, I have no idea as to where we're going. Does that answer your question?"

Ryoko blinked and then smiled. The smile spread across her face, starting with her lips, then her cheeks, and then her eyes, until her whole face radiated her happiness. " I knew there had to be some reason I fell in love with you, Kyo."

" What, aside from my good looks, you mean?"

In moments Kyo had Ryoko collapsed into fits of laughter, clinging onto him for support. Secretly though, inside Kyo, he agonized over his true form. Would she love his hideous self? Would she reject him like his mother before her? Or would Ryoko accomplish the impossible, would she love all of him?

Before Kyo could even give voice, or hope to give voice to his internal concerns, Ryoko recovered from her laughing fit. She wiped her eyes and stood up, brushing herself off. Kyo took Ryoko's extended hand and helped himself to his feet.

" I, however, know exactly where we are going. China." Ryoko looked up into the sky, a faraway look echoing in her eyes, " We're going home to China. The road will be long, but just think of it as taking the scenic route. First order of business," Ryoko clapped her hands together in a let's-get-down-to-business fashion " we need to find the train station and then see if I have enough pocket change to get us at least as far as Sapporo."

And off they went.

Luckily, Ryoko did indeed posses enough pocket change for two tickets north. She was only fortunate enough that she'd stuck her wallet in her back pocket and not the duffel bag. Though, her wallet didn't contain more than 71,326 yen, which wasn't much since train tickets were expensive.

Ryoko approached the ticket booth, since she was the one with the money. The ticketeer did not look like an early morning person; the station was just opening at 5:00 am. " May I-" yawn. " -I help you, miss?"

" _Hai. Kudasai_, (Yes. Please,) how far north will…" Ryoko hastily counted up her yen coins. " Seventy-one thousand, three hundred and twenty-six yen take two people?"

The ticketeer raised an eyebrow at the sum of money, and then peered around Ryoko to look at Kyo. A suspicion began to form in the ticketeer's mind, " Do your parents know where you're going, miss?"

Ryoko bristled at the mention of her father. She knew that the ticketeer was trying to stall her because she and Kyo looked so young. Ryoko thought fast.

She drew herself up to her full height, all five feet of her. She straightened her spine and threw back her shoulders. Adopting a sophisticated irritated look, the kind a woman of high society would use every day to deal with her inferiors.

Using all of the acting skills of voice, mannerisms, and body language that she possessed, Ryoko began her tirade. Kyo sat back with a smirk, and watched as Ryoko delivered a presentation worthy of Ayame Sohma himself.

" Miss? Miss! Excuse me, sir. I am no 'miss'! I am a 'Mrs.'! I have here with me my loving, and most adorable, husband who will certainly assist me in this manner if I should so need him. What _is_ your problem sir? Do you take pride in pestering people about their traveling schedules? Is that it? Or maybe you delight in delaying people from their imminent destinations! I thought that the human race would flourish, bloom and blossom in my absence from my home country. But no! Alas, I was wrong! The corruption of rudeness and nosiness has extended to other corners of the world! And I find it, of all places, here! Here in Japan where my husband and I hoped to spend a peaceful honeymoon together, but obviously I was wrong! How, oh how, could I have been so dastardly mistaken? How could this happen! All we wanted was to moderate our budget and see a few, last minute sights before heading home. Alas, now we shall find ourselves stranded in this miserable city, without a way to experience what I hoped to be some of the most memorable days of my life! Now I know that in my old age I have but to look back upon this moment, this important crossroads in my life, and _know._ Know that my hope for humanity was ever and from that day forth crushed, yes, _crushed_-."

The ticketeer, hoping to end this cruel and unusual punishment, pushed two tickets into Ryoko's hand. " twoticketstoSapporo,yourchangeis1,326yen,haveaniceday!"

He slammed the ticket window in her face.

Ryoko paused for a moment, staring at the dark ticket window, the change and tickets in her hand. Kyo burst out laughing, as did she. They made their way into the station, holding onto each other for support.

" Where in all the Hells did you learn to do that?" Kyo eventually managed to choke out. Ryoko smirked, " All I had to do was see Ayame once. That was enough." They stared at each other, then laughed again.

A rumbling caused the two to look up, as the northbound train rolled into the situation. Oh, er, _station_, excuse me. I couldn't tell the difference for a moment.

Ryoko and Kyo boarded, handing their tickets to the conductor by the door. He nodded to them, tearing along the dotted line and handing them back the ticket stubs.

" And where might you two lovebirds be headed on a beautiful day like today?" He asked smiling to Ryoko, who thought that some men weren't as stupid as they looked, though that wasn't often.

" Oh, just some sightseeing up north near Sapporo." Ryoko replied, finding her and Kyo a seat by the windows. The conductor checked the platform to make sure nobody else was waiting for the train, and stepped back from the door. The train lurched and began to move forward, increasing it's pace until it was racing along through the mountainous countryside.

The conductor leaned back against a chair, " Sapporo, huh? If I recall, that's pretty much near the northern coast. A couple day's walk to the tip of the country, if you head northeast from Sapporo. It's about a week's ride to Sapporo, you know."

Ryoko nodded, she didn't much care how long it took. So long as she was as far away from Taichii as was humanly possible. She didn't respond to the conductor, so he left her alone.

She and Kyo sat together, in the corner of the car, side by side. They couldn't talk about their family, or about the unspeakable horrors they were running from, both physical and emotional. Kyo gently put his hand over Ryoko's, their rings touched. They couldn't talk, but one touch, one look into each other's eyes was all they needed.

That, and many other knowing glancing afterwards, was mostly what pulled them through their ride north. Kyo held Ryoko against him, cradling her in his arms, savoring the simple ability to hold her itself. Kyo, during the nights, would look out the windows at the stars.

_God, I don't know if you can hear me, or if you're even there. Or if you'd listen. I don't like admitting I can't do stuff, but now I guess I have to. I need help, it doesn't matter what. Help me protect her God, so I don't lose her. Help me help her, and help set us free!_

A week later the train slowly rumbled into Sapporo Station, expelling its two weary travelers onto the platform before going off again. Kyo, taking Ryoko's hand, walked out of the station. He rubbed his ass.

" Man. And I thought my ass would be stuck in the shape of that damn seat." He moaned. Ryoko giggled and reached over and pinched Kyo's butt. Pinch

" Hey!" Kyo blushed and chased after Ryoko, who ran laughing down the sidewalk. " Catch me, catch me, Kyo!"

" Oh, you bet I will!"

Kyo chased her, running down the street, until he was completely exhausted. He and Ryoko wearily sunk down onto a bench. " So… so…" Kyo gasped, trying to catch his breath. " Where are we going now?"

Ryoko sighed, looking up at the darkening sky. " To the top of the country, to the tip of Japan." Kyo looked over at her, " How come you know so much about this country and where we're goin' and I don't, huh?"

She looked back at him with a mischievous grin, " Look Kyo, just because you think geography is boring-" Kyo cut her off with a laugh.

" How do you plan on getting us there, then? No trains, that's for sure."

" Exactly, no trains." She nodded. " Well, we can either use up what money we've got left to take a bus…" Kyo shook his head. " Or, " Ryoko continued, " we could walk. It would take us about three days."

Kyo grimaced, but to him, anything was better than having his ass permanently molded into the shape of a rebellious bus seat. " I'll go with the walk."

" Good idea." So Ryoko picked up a regional map in a box full of free pamphlets for tourists and they headed off.

Taichii and Akito stood on Akito's porch leading out to his gardens. " It's been more than a week, Taichii-san. Do you really think that you'll be able to find Ryoko and Kyo if you let them get too far ahead?" Akito's birds played in the water basin, chirping and singing.

Taichii smirked, adjusting his red tie. " Ryoko is headed into China. She will take the hardest route, coming down out of Russia. It's supposed to be illegal, and she won't have any traveling papers with her, though she tried to take them with her before we ambushed her at Kazuma-san's." He smirked, and let loose a small, sadistic chuckle.

The birds in Akito's water basin looked up, and flew away out the open doorway.

" There's no need to worry, Akito-san. I have every thing under control. We won't be there to meet her at the Russian and Chinese border, oh no, we won't." An evil glimmer shone out in Taichii's eyes.

" We'll meet her in Beijing."

" You're kidding, right?" Kyo looked out over the choppy waters. The weather had picked up and a storm was brewing on the horizon. They were at the tip of the country, the very top of Japan. After three days of hard walking from Sapporo, they had reached what seemed to be the end of the world.

Kyo had assumed that that was as far as Ryoko had planned to run, at least in that particular direction. He'd walked to the very edge, bent down, stuck his finger in the cold water, and turned around with the intention of finding a warm bench somewhere out of the wind to curl up on.

He was wrong.

Kyo stared at Ryoko. She wasn't serious… was she?

She was.

Ryoko stripped off her shirt, laying it out on a rock. Kyo frantically looked around, fearing that someone besides himself would see her being so obviously immodest. Out here by the ocean's edge the wind was the strongest, and, with the Asian half of the world still in mid-spring, it was very, very cold. There was no one within two miles of the ocean; all the people with common sense were holed up somewhere warm.

Running to the ends of the Earth didn't seem like such a great idea to Kyo anymore, though he loved Ryoko enough to follow her anywhere she went.

Her next step was to go to Russia.

By sea.

By _swimming._

Kyo thought Ryoko was mad.

But, he loved her anyway.

This brings us to question the measure of his personal sanity.

By this time, while Kyo was gathering his thoughts and pulling himself back to the situation at hand, Ryoko was completely naked. Kyo tried not to stare, he'd seen her naked before of course, but usually somewhere private, not on the beach or any public place like that. He remarked to himself that Ryoko had no shame. Upon thinking this, however, he realized that he didn't have any either.

Kyo, rather reluctantly I might add, stripped off his clothes. Then, a question popped into his mind. " What are we doing with our clothes? We're not just gonna leave 'em here, are we?"

Ryoko shook her head, dipping her bare feet into the water to test its temperature. " We'll tie 'em to our heads so that don't get very wet."

At least that was an attempt on Ryoko's part toward the path of sanity and common sense, Kyo thought.

So they bundled up their clothes, somehow managed to tie them on tops of their heads, and tried to slip into the frigid water without completely turning into little kitty icicles.

Once they were nearly submerged, Kyo turned to her, " I hope you know where we're going." She nodded back to him, " Sakhalin Peninsula, Russia. Of course," Ryoko chuckled; Kyo failed to see what was so funny, if anything but their current situation could be hilarious. " It's completely illegal for us to do this." She giggled and Kyo sighed, ' She's completely lost it.' He thought.

Ryoko, obviously having lost the feeling in her apendaged limbs because of the cold, pulled back and then plunged forward, starting their perilous water journey through the high, frigid seas between Japan's northern coast and the islands of east Russia.

Ryoko and Kyo lay gasping for breath on the beach. Half in, half out of the water, the rain pelted softly down upon them. Ryoko groaned, " I hurt everywhere." Voicing Kyo's thoughts exactly.

" Let's never do that again." He turned to her, and then groaned at the dull, aching pain that seemed to reach every part of his body. " I never want to see the ocean again as long as I live." Kyo declared.

" I'll second that." Ryoko agreed.

They lay on the beach for a while longer, soaking in the rain and the tide, wondering where their journey would take them now.

Kyo sat up and stretched, taking his mostly dry clothes off his head and laying them _somewhere_ where the sand wouldn't get to them. It simply wouldn't do to go getting sand in his boxers. Uncomfortable private parts were the last things Kyo needed right now.

" Remind me why we just did that again, will you please, I'm a little rusty after that wave almost took me under." Kyo sarcastically muttered half to himself and half to Ryoko.

Ryoko sat up and looked Kyo right in the eyes, he didn't meet her gaze for long, the rain dripping off her face. " To get away from Taichii Okinawa."

" Oh…."

" I don't know about you, Kyo. I know _I'd_ swim to California if I had to, to get away from that bastard." Ryoko declared, standing and brushing the drying sand off her dark skin, pulling her clothes on.

" Where are we going now?" Kyo sighed, completely dressed.

" Khabarovsk."

" Bless you."

Pause. Giggle, snort. " Hee, hee."

" What!"

More snorting.

" What!"

" I-it's a… Ha ha!"

" For God's sake, Ryoko, what!"

Ryoko was doubled up over a rock, clinging onto it for support, clutching her sides and laughing. " It's a Russian town by the Chinese border." She said once she was back in control.

" Oh. I knew that!"

Hiding behind a building in an abandoned alley, Ryoko and Kyo peeked around the corner to look at the border guard. He was asleep. The border guard was leaned up against his post; a fur cap pulled down over his face, his gun resting on the building beside him.

Ryoko snickered to herself; this was going to be too easy. ' Like taking candy from a baby.' She thought. Or, at least she hoped it was easier than that. Taking candy from babies was a bad idea. The reason being because if you did, they'd bite your fingers right off.

Ryoko and Kyo had somehow managed to pick up some discarded Russian fur coats. Ryoko hoped it was no one she knew. They were plenty warm, at least for a while.

So, on tiptoe and as quietly as Cats can be, Ryoko and Kyo snuck past the border guard and into China.

" I'm starving." Kyo declared with a groan. " I haven't had anything to eat in… well, days."

Travel weary and foot sore, Ryoko and Kyo passed under the gate into Beijing. Their entire journey up to this point had taken them four months. By now there was a whole list of things Kyo never wanted to see again, including the ocean, mountains, and bears.

It was Market Day in Beijing, the food vendors selling everything from leeks to fish. Ryoko and Kyo ogled at the fish vendors like the starving Cats they were. The fish vendor shooed them away, _" If you won't buy, don't stare."_

The language swirled around Kyo's head and made his temples throb. He didn't understand Chinese in the least, while Ryoko knew it perfectly because she'd lived in the country for so many years.

As the two Cats threaded their way through the crowd, Kyo noticed that Ryoko had suddenly gained a rather large sum of money. He did a double take. Nope, it was still there, being shoved into her back pocket.

Kyo stepped up to walk beside her, " Ryoko." He caught her attention with a slight whisper. Though he didn't need to, he was speaking Japanese in a Chinese city.

" I didn't know you could pickpocket, where'd you learn that?"

She cocked her head back at him, wearing a mischievous grin. " Well, when the adults are away and you've got nothing better to do on a Saturday night. You find ways to entertain yourself."

Ryoko and Kyo found a deserted alley to hole up in for a while. She turned to Kyo, " Do you think you could change into your Cat form and steal some fish?"

Kyo's head whipped around to look at her like she was crazy. Wait, wait, he'd already established that fact. Kyo sighed, he nodded.

After making sure that no one was around, Kyo closed his eyes. He concentrated on his weariness, his aching feet and his despair that they'd never reach their final destination. Suddenly, he felt it. Kyo _Changed._

Kyo didn't want to waste time, when at any moment he was in danger of transforming back into his human body. He dashed out into the market, toward the fish vendor.

" Be safe!" Ryoko called after him, waving. An odd pain suddenly burst at the base of her skull, and the world went black.

Kyo returned to the alley, several fish in his furry mouth. Then, with a poof, he changed back. Kyo grabbed his clothes, dressing and taking the fish out of his mouth. He looked around, noticing the lack of greetings upon his return.

Ryoko was gone.

Her clothes lying on the dirty ground.

Kyo raised his head and caught her scent. He charged down the alleyway, fish forgotten.

Pushing through the throngs of people, Kyo didn't care how much damage he caused, only that Ryoko was rapidly getting further and further away. He was slowed by the fact that he was trying to avoid bumping into people and being transformed. Kyo growled when he caught Akito's and Taichii's scent, his pupils turned to slits.

Kyo burst through the gate outside Beijing, he breathing harsh and ragged. He saw Taichii standing by a black, unmarked car, about to get in. Charging forward, Kyo knew his window of opportunity was closing fast.

He knew before he'd gone three yards that he'd been beat. But that didn't stop him from trying even harder.

Suddenly Kyo heard the sound of indefatigable thunder tearing towards them through the blue sky. He looked up, causing his balance to falter and his ankle to twist. Kyo cried out in pain as he slammed his injured foot down. Kyo, overcome with shock and pain, tumbled to the ground.

It was not thunder at all, but a helicopter. The helicopter tore across the sky and machine gun fire sprayed the black get away car, puncturing it full of holes.

Kyo cried out to the 'copter, fearing one of the bullets might have hit Ryoko by mistake. Was she hurt, Kyo couldn't tell, but he wished he could.

The get away car screeched, burning rubber, before a small-blanketed bundle was thrown out the open door. The helicopter had dipped low and was coming to rest not a few feet away from where the car had been parked.

Ryoko changed back, landing on her feet in a crouch. She quickly grabbed the blanket that Taichii had been holding her in and tied it around her body to preserve her modesty.

She came over to Kyo, helping him to his feet. " Get those fish?" She asked with a smile, kissing him on the cheek. Kyo, though she'd only just scared him half to death, laughed.

" Are the two of you alright?" A familiar soft voice asked. Though the helicopter's blades were deafening at this close range, they both heard Gabriel's voice perfectly, quiet as it was.

Gabriel came and embraced his sister for a long moment, comforting her. He clapped Kyo on the shoulder and smiled at him, a man of few words. He gestured toward the 'copter, indicating that the two of them should get in.

They did so, settling down in the back. Gabriel shut the door and secured them in. He signaled to the pilot and they lifted off from the ground. Once the altitude was high enough, the pilot maneuvered the helicopter over Beijing.

Ryoko leaned her head on Kyo's shoulder, simply thankful to be alive. Kyo looked at Gabriel, how had he known where they were, or even that Ryoko was in danger.

When Kyo voiced his questions, Gabriel took his time in answering them. " I do not know how I know when my _Xiao Mei_ is in danger, I simply _know_. She is very precious to me and I would do anything for her. She has suffered from Okinawa in the past, and I don't intend to slack in my watching of her so that she may suffer at his evil hands again."

Kyo silently accepted Gabriel's statements. But there was still one more question Kyo had to ask. " Where are we going now?"

Gabriel's red eyes looked into Kyo's, strands of his soft white hair falling into his face. Gabriel puffed out his cheeks to move the hair out of his eyes. " We are now en route to Hong Kong. We are going to Hong Kong because the helicopter must be returned to its launch pad. After that we will be taking a car to our family's lake house in Changsha by Lake Hunan."

Kyo had absolutely _no_ idea where any of that was, with the exception of Hong Kong. And he sincerely hoped that where ever Gabriel was planning to take them was far, far away from Taichii Okinawa.

Upon landing in Hong Kong twelve hours later, there was a short break for food and for going to the bathroom. Ryoko had been complaining the whole way, because she was pregnant and had every right to do so.

Once Gabriel, Kyo, and Ryoko were all set and ready to go, they piled into Gabriel's white limo and sped north.

It took them about eight hours to reach Changsha from Hong Kong. Kyo and Ryoko were curled up on the back seats of the limo, in their Cat forms, sleeping peacefully. Gabriel sat across from them, smiling to himself in a very Hatori-like way. His warmth and kindness filtering through his exterior.

When they finally pulled up to Gabriel's lake house, it was late at night. The warm spring breeze filtered through the sakura trees and leisurely caressed the weary travelers. Gabriel climbed out of the car, reaching back in to pick up both peacefully sleeping Cats.

Though a Rat, Gabriel had learned just how ridiculous the hatred for the Cats really was. He didn't mind touching them, not one bit. He was stronger, more silent, and kinder than any man who walked the Earth. Gabriel Sohma was one among many, a beautiful rose in a garden of only Winter.

He carried them together in his arms up the steps and into the house. He placed them together in a large room, on a satin blanket covered futon. The sliding door leading out to the garden was open, letting the soft July air whisper through the room. Gabriel hung up clothes for them for when they finally awoke.

Gabriel checked once more that every last thing in the room would be ready for when they woke up. He sighed, smiling and admiring Kyo's courage and determination to follow his crazy younger sister. Stifling a chuckle, Gabriel moved to leave, turning off the lights, and lighting the candle lanterns.

He whispered softly in the dark, apparently for no one but the readers he knew were listening. " 'Night-lights protect my sleeping babes. Burn clear and steadfast tonight.' "

The sound that followed him out the door was so soft that even Gabriel thought he had imagined it. But as he closed the door behind him, he knew that he had heard it. A clear and soft purring. It was then, that Gabriel really knew. He knew then, that everything would be all right.


	8. Chapter 8

Jaded By Rain

By, Jamie1317kast

The wheels have been set in motion for the final obstacle to be overcome, yourself. When you're Jaded, it's hard to be just like everybody else. It's hard to fit in, hard to grow up, and hard to move on. Even though being Jaded makes you unique and special, you always have the choice about whether or not to be just like everybody else. But for those people who have always been different, always been Jaded, no price would be too much to pay for normalcy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Furuba, they are copyright to Natsuki Takaya-sensei. My own characters are Ryoko Sohma, Gabriel Sohma, Takamichi Sohma, Taichii Okinawa, Rumiko Young-Li, Yueh Sohma, Saizo Chung, and if any other of my characters pop up I'll let you know. The poem that appears at the end, " Jaded by Rain" was written and is copyrighted to me. Anything that is blatantly not mine, such as quotes by other people, I do not own. And all go to their respective owners and stuff…

Rated R for adult situations and just in case.

Jaded By Rain:

The next two months that Ryoko and Kyo spent at Gabriel's Lake House, were filled with laughter. Ryoko ate with the ravenous appetite of a healthy pregnant woman and Kyo practiced his skills in martial arts.

Gabriel watched over the pair, a soft smile on his lips. He knew that Taichii and Akito had both taken up residence in China. He knew that Akito was biding his time, waiting for Ryoko's child to hurry up and be born so he could steal it from her. Gabriel was only lucky that the bastards after Ryoko and Kyo had no idea that he knew that they were in China. This was to Gabriel's advantage.

It was sometime in August; the heat rolled in through the house, leisurely making all work come to a complete halt. The air was heavy with the promise of coming rain, but for now the sky was a blinding blue, the sun beating heavily down onto the earth. The heat rose up in waves off the grass and the bugs trilled on lazily.

Kyo lay under a sakura tree, a book over his face, taking a Catnap. He had been practicing in his new karate uniform when the heat had gotten to be too much for him. His pants were rolled up to his knees and his shirt was bundled up behind his head, making a soft pillow.

Gabriel was sitting on the porch overlooking the gardens, fanning himself. His damp hair clung to his dark forehead, and his red eyes were half-open. His yukata was hanging around his waist and his long legs were spread out in front of him.

Ryoko was lying in her and Kyo's room on their futon. While the other occupants of the house, both men and the servants, were all holed up somewhere trying to get cool and half asleep; Ryoko was wide awake. There were no fans running in her room, the heat rose in waves off her dark, bare flesh. Ryoko lay, completely naked save for her beads, staring up at the ceiling.

She lifted her hands slowly and laid them on her round belly. She gently caressed the skin, soothed it with soft whispers, and promised it that its time would come soon. She closed her eyes and listened to the voices of all the past Cats swirling around in her head.

_Look at her, can you believe she's gotten this far?_

_She's actually married._

_She's pregnant._

_Lucky._

_Her ordeal isn't over, so I wouldn't be celebrating just yet._

_What does she have left to do, do you think?_

_She has to face her past._

_And herself._

_She can't run from the truth forever._

_That's right, she's a Cat._

_And the Cats may very well be the most cursed of us all._

_But she'll do it, won't she?_

_Do what?_

_What are you talking about?_

_Do… you know, IT._

_Oh…_

_That's right, do IT._

" Do what?" Ryoko was now annoyed with the voices. They were talking in some sort of code on purpose just to piss her off. Well, she wouldn't fall for it, she couldn't risk getting stressed now, and her baby was almost here.

_Your becoming._

_The Final Task. _

_And then, after that…_

_You won't be Jaded any more._

Ryoko was about to ask the voices, even though talking to them only encouraged them to talk back even more, what the bloody Hell they were talking about, when something hit her. The pain exploded in Ryoko's lower back, spasming until just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, it stopped. And then it started again a few minutes later.

Her eyes flew open. The baby was coming, and the baby was coming _now_. ' Oh God, oh God, oh God.' Ryoko thought.

Oh God.

When the next contraction hit, since Ryoko couldn't get up without assistance, she screamed. She had wrapped a blanket around her body, preserving what modesty she had left.

Both Gabriel and Kyo's heads snapped up, they both came running to her side. Kyo was the first through the door, " Ryoko!" he cried out to her, going to her side. Gabriel was not far behind him.

" Ryoko, what's wrong?" Kyo knelt by her and held her hand. She turned her pain-filled eyes to him, " The baby." She whispered above the pain. " Our baby, Kyo, he's ready."

Kyo's eyes practically bugged out of his head. Their baby, _his_ baby, was coming. Oh, God, his baby was coming _now._ ' Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!' Were the words racing across Kyo's mind?

Oh shit.

Gabriel calmly crossed the room and picked up his sister, blanket and all. " I have a room prepared for you, _Xiao Mei_. Kyo-san, you will follow me. Since it has been, presumably, seven months instead of nine, I can only deduct the child is _Jynunshi._ Therefore, I will not run the risk of calling a doctor. Though I wish to do so."

Kyo accepted all this without comment, following Gabriel down the hallways. Ryoko whimpering in his arms.

Kyo paced outside the door, back and forth. Gabriel sat across from the door, calm and collected save for his wringing his hands. Their nervousness poured off them in torrents. They had both tried to help Ryoko, but she was determined to do it herself, even if it killed her.

Gabriel knew that Ryoko was nervous, it was her first child after all. Besides, this was the way their mother had died, giving birth to Ryoko. So, of course, they had every right to be worried.

When Ryoko had kicked them out, she had managed to say something above the pain of another contraction. " A birthing room…ow… is no place…ow… for men. Ow!" Determined as they had been to help her, Ryoko wouldn't hear of it. So she kicked them out.

Women.

The hours slid by, Ryoko's labor lasting long into the night and into the next day. Kyo, she had allowed in to bring her food. Ryoko was exhausted and in constant pain. When the sun set on the second day, Gabriel knew that something was terribly wrong. No woman should be in labor for that long without something being the matter. But we have to keep in mind that Gabriel is a man, and no matter how cool his character is, that will never change.

Men.

But even Ryoko had to admit that there was something wrong when her labor lasted all the next day and into the evening. It had been three days since her first contraction, and Ryoko knew that something was indeed, terribly, terribly wrong.

She practically jumped out of her skin when Akito entered the room, but by that point, she didn't have enough energy to order him out. He came over to her, and, with a disgusted look on his face, asked her what in all the seven Hells was taking her so damn long.

She managed a weak glare before her resolve faded and the pain returned. " The baby…" She gasped, " He's… turned around. The wrong… way."

Akito saw her looking at him, in such a way that could not be refused. Akito may have been a madman, but deep down inside, he was not without a heart. Albeit, though it was about three sizes too small, he had one, it was there. Not only that, but the baby Ryoko was struggling to have belonged to him.

It was time, time for the baby to be born. All the weight of the world and of the Curse of the _Jynunshi_ itself pushed down upon Ryoko's stomach. Wrinkling his nose in disgust and rolling up his long, black sleeves, Akito came to her aid.

As her God, the God of all _Jynunshi_ both loved and hated; Akito saved Ryoko and the baby. Bringing the baby safely into the world and keeping it's mother with it.

If the readers are curious about how he saved her, read this. If not, don't. It's pretty ugly and gross. Not to mention OOC.

(To be more graphic: He reached up inside of her and turned the baby around. Then he cut along the birth canal to allow the baby more room to be born.)

Akito, his arms and hands soiled with birth blood, stood up and handed the baby to its exhausted mother. Ryoko took the child, cradling it in her arms, cooing softly. Though tired beyond belief, she forced her eyes to stay open long enough to see her beautiful child.

It was a boy; his eyes were still closed. Ryoko took up a washcloth from the bedside table and washed her little boy clean. She held him gently, marveling at his tiny beauty. She'd felt like she was trying to pass a large mini van through her birth canal. Her dark fingers smoothly caressing his soft white skin, Ryoko wondered if she had been this small when she was born.

Then, he opened his eyes. Blinking them once or twice, then smiling. The boy giggled, his small cheeks rounding with innocent amusement at the sky blue of his mother's eyes. A small tuft of silvery hair stood on end on the crown of the boy's head and his deep purple eyes glowed softly in the day's darkening light.

A Rat-child.

Ryoko smiled, feeling sleepy and contented. " _Yueh_." She whispered into the boy's ear. " That's your name. Yueh."

Before the tired mother could move to stop him, Akito snatched the small Rat-child out of her arms. " You don't deserve to be the mother of a Rat-child, you ugly Cat-bitch." Akito hissed at her, clutching Yueh tightly in his arms.

Ryoko struggled to sit up, her strength failed her and she fell back against her pillows. " No, please… my baby, my son. Yueh!"

Akito glared at her once more in disgust and strode purposefully from the room, leaving in his wake a burdening dread. A fear that Ryoko would never again see her beloved son.

Akito, nor Taichii, who had been outside waiting for him, did not get far. Gabriel and his awesomely cool horde of ninjas swooped down upon the bad guys and kicked their asses.

Gabriel's ninjas took the unconscious men with them in their cool get-away ninja cars. Gabriel smiled to himself, holding the baby.

It was certainly the way to go all right, ambushed by a pack of ninjas. Heading back into the house, Gabriel chuckled to himself; " It does not get much cooler than that." He smiled mischievously.

That night, Ryoko and Kyo lay together on their futon. Yueh was sleeping peacefully in his little crib not far from his parents. The night air was heavy with the approaching rain, the clouds blowing across the sky with the wind.

Ryoko was taking up one whole side of the large futon, and Kyo the other. Ryoko slept like a log, she had every right to, believe me. However, Kyo was tossing and turning in his sleep.

His dream wracked him with images from his past, most of them painful. And subconsciously Kyo knew that his and Ryoko's journey was not over yet.

_Kyo was lying in the sand, naked. The sky seemed impossibly close and the air felt so heavy. Sitting up to preserve what modesty he had left, Kyo looked around. He didn't see anything except desert for miles and miles in every direction. The Sun beat down on his bare back, and Kyo winced from the pain._

_A figure appeared in the distance, approaching Kyo. Though it was still a long way off, Kyo chalked it all up to lack of sleep and a mirage. The heat waves gave the distant figure a hazy quality, obscuring its features._

_Finally it got close enough for Kyo to see that it was a woman. Her dark, African skin complimented her long black hair. Her eyes were black as well, and her ears were pointed and pierced. Her face had a Cat-like quality, a long tail swished behind her, and sharp nails adorned her fingers. The woman was barely wearing anything, a fact that made Kyo turn his face away and blush. Her revealing white robe was accented by the heavy jewelry that adorned her ears, shoulders, arms and legs._

_" You are Sohma Kyo, are you not?" The woman spoke in a tongue forgien to Kyo, but somehow he understood her. He nodded. " Yeah, that's me."_

_" And you are your family's Cat?"_

_Kyo didn't bother to ask how she knew; she was only a dream vision after all. He replied. " Yeah."_

_The woman's intense gaze studied him, and Kyo blushed anew, remembering that he was naked. Though this was a dream, sure enough it was, Kyo had the strange feeling that whatever this strange woman had to tell him was very, very important to his immediate future._

_" I am going to tell you how to lift the curse from you and your wife."_

_Kyo blinked, " You are?" He asked skeptically._

_" But why us, I mean not that I mind it's us, but… why not that damn Yuki or even Hatori? Why the Cats, I mean, Hell, no one even likes the Cats, so why us?"_

_She met his questioning gaze with her serious one. " Because the Cats are the only ones capable of breaking your family's curse. If you and your wife follow my instructions exactly, you will no longer be Jaded."_

_Kyo sat, digesting this new information. He'd give anything to not be cursed, to not be burdened with his true form. And he was sure that Ryoko felt the same way about her true form that he felt about his._

_The woman sighed and began to tell Kyo what he should do. He was to journey to the town of Chengdu, China. That town was in the foothills of the Chinese mountains. And in that specific range of mountains was the mountain where the Zodiac Banquet was originally held in honor of the great lord Buddha before he left the Earth for Heaven. Buddha's Palace resided on Phoenix Mountain._

_Kyo nodded, understanding. Even if it was all just a prank played on him by his subconscious, Kyo didn't much care. He'd journey around the world if he had to, to be freed of his family's curse. _

_Consciousness started to claim Kyo, and he faded out of the desert with a determined smile on his face. He was going to kick the Sohma family curse right in its ass. _

_Smiling to herself, Bastet, the Goddess of love and of all Cats, watched him go._

Ryoko looked at Kyo like he was completely off his rocker, the mad hatter. She sighed, " Kyo, dear, are you sure you're feeling all right upstairs?" She gestured to his head.

Kyo shrugged it off, a smile plastered across his teenage face. " I'm not joking, this woman came to me in my dream-."

" Was she beautiful?"

" Yes."

Raised eyebrows.

" But that's not the point! The point _is_ that she told me how to break the curse! Come on, Ryoko, you've at least gotta believe me." Kyo implored her; Ryoko glanced over at Gabriel.

They were sitting in the kitchen. Ryoko shook her head, smiling. Kyo had been like this since he'd woken up, all worked up and ecstatic about some crackpot idea about breaking the family curse. Ryoko had given him every single excuse she could think of about just how stupid and completely insane his idea was, but she couldn't dissuade him.

Not to mention she'd give anything to not be cursed herself. Any one of the Zodiac felt that way, there wasn't one among them who really enjoyed their curse, there were not exceptions. And it was only Chengdu that Kyo was talking about; it wasn't that far away. Ryoko sighed, running a hand through her hair.

" All right. I'll go with you."

Kyo stopped trying to convince her he wasn't mad. " You will?" He asked, not completely sure he had heard her correctly. Even Gabriel looked surprised, but he smiled, knowing his sister, and left the room.

" You want me to go, then I'll go. Gabriel can look after Yueh while we're gone, and besides, what have we got to lose?"

Kyo smiled, knowing that they had nothing to lose. Or at least, he hoped. Though inside, Kyo really had bigger concerns. His true form, she'd never even seen it. If they really did rid themselves of their curse, she'd never see it. And then she'd never accept him, though Kyo desperately wished her to.

They stood in a small clearing, the rain pouring down on them. They were both so tired from the excitement of having a baby, the long drive to Chengdu, the hike to the trailhead, and now the hike up the mountain ahead of them. They had stopped to rest when the rain had started; making them even more tired than they already were. Kyo groaned, he hated the rain.

Finally, once and for all, a question formed in Kyo's mind. He was going to ask her for better or for worse about his true form. But before he could say a word, Ryoko got up from where she was sitting, and crossed the clearing to him

Standing before him, Kyo held his breath. " I love you Kyo." He started to respond but she held up a hand to stop him. " I love you, Kyo. _All_ of you." He doubtfully met her eyes.

" No one could love all of me, I'm ugly."

" But I do."

Now Kyo was angry, it was the rain he supposed, working him up like this. Why did Ryoko insist on loving him, no matter what? His true form was ugly and disgusting and there wasn't a person alive who could really accept him like that. Not even Kagura had been able to, and she loved Kyo a whole lot.

Before he could say another word, Ryoko hugged him. Latching one arm around him, and reaching for his left wrist with the other. She would prove her love for him whether he liked it or not.

Kyo saw her hand lash out towards his beads, but he didn't have time to pull his wrist away. Her face was buried against his chest, her hand gripping his beads. She pulled.

The beads fell away, landing on the wet grass.

Kyo screamed, " DON'T LOOK AT ME!"

Ryoko would not let go. She held onto him through his transformation. Kyo was stunned. Her face still buried in his chest, Ryoko hugged him tightly with both arms. " I love you, Kyo." She repeated. " You're beautiful and I love you."

" Don't lie to me." Kyo painfully replied. " Don't lie to me. If I were really beautiful, you'd look at me. You're not looking."

Ryoko shifted, looking up into his twisted face. " You're beautiful." She half whispered. Kyo started to protest but she placed a hand over his hard lips, " Shhh…it's all right Kyo. I love you so much. You really are beautiful."

Kyo had the distinct impression that she was telling the whole truth, all the truth and nothing but the truth. As much as his family had always told him how ugly he was, he couldn't shake the feeling that what Ryoko was saying was true.

Then, she kissed him. She kissed his face, the crown of his head. Caressing his arms and back, letting him know that there was not a part of him that she did not or could not love.

Kyo reached for his beads and slipped them back on. Ryoko was suddenly confronted with a shirtless human Kyo. He looked at her, tears mingling with raindrops on his face. He kissed her, " You have no idea just how much I needed to hear that." He smiled. It was Ryoko's turn to smile at him.

" Yes I did."

" Oh. Yeah. I knew that!" Said Kyo, returning to his normal emotional state. Suddenly and with renewed vigor, Kyo jumped up.

" Race you to the top!" He called back over his shoulder, running out of the clearing and onto the mountain path.

" You're on!" Ryoko shouted back, racing along after him, laughing.

They returned to Chengdu several hours later, to see Gabriel waiting by the car with Yueh in his arms. The rain had passed some hours ago into the west, out toward a land with no worries and no troubles.

Gabriel was glad to see them returning safely, soaking wet, but safe none the less. He handed the two of them a pair of towels, and watched them dry off. They seemed to be in good spirits, which was always a good sign. Then he noticed that neither of them was wearing their Cat's beads.

" Why do you two not have your Cat beads with you?" He asked, genuinely perplexed. Had it actually worked?

Ryoko and Kyo shared smiles with each other. " Oh, don't you know? We don't need them anymore." Ryoko's grin spread wider.

" Yeah." Kyo seconded. " We're free."

Free. That had a nice ring to it, Ryoko decided. ' I like that. Free, we're finally free.' A bubble of laughter escaped her lips, and the others joined in. They piled into Gabriel's car and headed home, the radio playing a soft melody.

_Self-confident, I don't need to ask why.  
_

_Lifting my face, raising my hands to the sky.  
_

_Washing away the mud-covered pain,  
_

_Cooling, gentle touch, I've been jaded by rain._

Stretching out, receiving sweet wet kisses.  


_Living our dreams, the way everyone wishes._

_Smiling and laughing, no contract to sign,  
_

_Splashing through moments, leaving pain behind._

Sing outloud to the music in your head,  


_Cleanse your past of the stains of blood red.  
_

_Come clean, cast off each sin,  
_

_Close your eyes, feel the rain on your skin._

I won't go back to a past that's faded,  


_Fling out my arms, I love being jaded.  
_

_Look back, notice that your footprints of pain  
_

_Have come and have gone, washed away by the rain._

"Free at last, Free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are Free at last!"

I just wanted to thank you all, my readers and my inspiration. (Furuba, duh.) Usuki and PurplePixie, my reviewers. And my RPGer, Kirenia. Who, without which, none of this fic would be possible. I loved writing it, and I've been in a complete Shigure mood ever since I started.

I'm now looking for a career as a writer. Aside from the fact that my Shigure impressions have been driving my family nuts, I think it's a good idea.

Well, all good things must come to an end, and I just wanted to thank everybody. And to tell you that if you've read and haven't reviewed. Well, you should.

So, alas, I must leave you now. Hopefully the story was to everybody's liking, I know it was to mine.

Sayonara, I hope to write another fic soon! Ja ne minna-san!

The Authoress


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